How the Islamic State is spreading slowly but surely it's wings in Indian states.

How the Islamic State is spreading it's wings in Indian states, slowly but surely. (HT).

Some of at least 75 Indians were arrested from airports while on their way to join the terror group in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, while several are also reported to have died in battle abroad.

The state-wise break-up of Indians arrested for alleged links to Islamic State reveals a slow, yet nationwide appeal of the terror group.

Of the 75 held as of March this year, Kerala accounted for 21, Telangana 16, Karnataka nine, Maharashtra eight, Madhya Pradesh six, Uttarakhand four, Uttar Pradesh three, Rajasthan two, Tamil Nadu four and Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal had one each. Apart from these, 10 suspected IS activists were held in multi-state raids on April 20.

There are up to seven IS terror modules in India, though the group is yet to carry out any major attack in the country.

At least 75 Indians are also believed to have gone to fight for IS in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, including some Indian-origin youngsters from other countries. Since 2014, some of them were arrested from airports while on their way to join jihad, while several are also reported to have died in battle abroad.

Perhaps the most famous of these was the group of 21, including at least six women and three children, which disappeared from northern Kerala and reportedly went to Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. When the US dropped the “mother of all bombs” on April 13 on caves in Nangarhar, it was reported that at least 13 Indians were among the 96 terrorists killed.

Two of the Kerala youngsters were killed in the same area, one in a drone strike, but it’s not yet clear if some Malayalis died in the MOAB attack. A third man, a Christian who converted to Islam, died a couple of days ago.

While many plots by IS terrorists have been foiled, including one allegedly targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the group’s first known “successful” strike in India was a pipe bomb explosion in a Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train at Jabri railway station in Madhya Pradesh on March 7. The blast injured 10 passengers, with no fatalities.

Arrests of nearly 10 suspects linked to that blast led security agencies to modules in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and to Saifullah, who fired back from his hideout in Lucknow before being shot dead.

Unlike the common perception, data from the National Investigation Agency revealed many of the youngsters joining IS are from middle or upper classes. Many including the Kerala youngsters had studied or worked in Gulf states.

They are mostly technically savvy, which explains their radicalisation online, through blogs, Twitter or groups on Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Kik, VKontakte, Viber and Skype. According to an analysis of NIA data in January, 28 of the 52 arrested IS suspects were aged 18 to 25 and 20 of them were graduates.

The extent of online radicalisation was revealed first with the arrest of Mehdi Masroor Biswas in December 2014 from Bengaluru. Biswas used his twitter account @shamiwitness to send out more than 124,000 tweets that defended the IS and exhorted youngsters to join the group. Intelligence agencies were able to bust such online communications after infiltrating encrypted chat apps such as Telegram through mission Operation Chakravyuh.

Besides online radicalisation, some youngsters were brainwashed in person by people allegedly associated with radical preacher Zakir Naik and the Peace Foundation in Kerala and its schools.

In the first successful conviction of a case related to IS, a special court on April 21 sentenced two men to seven years in jail after they pleaded guilty to criminally conspiring to raise funds and recruiting people for the group. Read the full story here.

'Canadian national Linked to ISIL Arrested in Turkey on his way home'.

'Canadian national Linked to ISIL Arrested in Turkey on his way home'.(TS)

According to the Andolu News Agency, a man identified only as “Wassim B.” was arrested on March 10 at the airport in Adana, a city in southern Turkey. The report, which cited unnamed security officials, said the man had been planning to fly to Istanbul, before catching flights to Greece and then Canada.

Under interrogation, it was reportedly determined that the man was in fact a “high-level” weapons trainer for the terror group in Syria. Officials also seized videos, images that showed him firing weapons as well as other documents, according to the report.

Austin Jean, a spokesperson with Global Affairs Canada, confirmed the arrest but could provide neither details of the case nor the identity of the individual.

“Consular services are being provided to a Canadian citizen who has been detained in Adana, Turkey, as well as to their family. Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information,” Jean said in a written statement.

The images of the man who was arrested that were published by Turkish news organizations bear a resemblance to Wassim Boughadou, a Montreal-born man of Algerian ancestry who is under investigation by the RCMP for having joined Daesh, which is also known as the Islamic State or ISIS.

Boughadou is one of several men from Quebec suspected of having participated in the kidnapping of two American journalists in Syria in 2013, which has been blamed on a group linked to Al-Qaeda.

Global Affairs Canada acknowledged that a Canadian citizen was detained in Adana, but declined to confirm the individual’s identity.

“Consular services are being provided to a Canadian citizen who has been detained in Adana, Turkey, as well as to their family. Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information,” spokesperson Brittany Venhola-Fletcher told Global News in an emailed statement.

Turkish authorities reportedly interrogated the suspect and seized documents as well as photos and videos showing him firing weapons in the Syrian countryside.

Photos and videos of the man published by Turkish news organizations bear resemblance to Wassim Boughadou, 25, a Montreal-born man suspected of being involved in the 2013 kidnapping of two American journalists in Syria.

In an interview with LaPresse in January 2017, Boughadou claimed that he turned religious at age 18, and left Canada in 2012 because he didn’t feel welcome in Quebecois society.

At the time, he said that he would never return to Canada.

Prime Minister Theresa May : "London attacker was British born and had been investigated by MI5 over extremism fears".

UK PM Theresa May clarifies the latest on the investigation into the #WestminsterAttack More: https://t.co/0k9Myetb0n pic.twitter.com/7vq1adgvPk

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) March 23, 2017

Prime Minister Theresa May : "London attacker was British born and had been investigated by MI5 over extremism fears".(Standard).

The attacker who killed three people at Westminster was born in Britain and had previously been investigated by MI5 for violent extremism, Prime Minister Theresa May has revealed.

Mrs May briefed MPs in the Commons on Thursday morning and gave limited details about the man but said security services had not had any warning an attack was imminent.

Whilst the man had been investigated by MI5 several years ago, she described him as “a peripheral figure”.

Speaking to a packed House, Mrs May said: “His identity is known to the police and MI5 and when operational considerations allow, he will be publicly identified.

“The man was British-born and some years ago was investigated by MI5 over concerns into violent extremism.

“He was a peripheral figure. The case is historic.

“He was not part of the current intelligence picture. There was no prior intelligence of his intent or the plot.” Read the full story here.

Radicalized Muslim known to security agencies shot dead in 'terror' incident at Paris Orly airport.

Radicalized Muslim known to security agencies shot dead in 'terror' incident at Paris Orly airport. (DailyStar).

Two shooting incidents occurred within just over an hour and a half of each other in the capital of France.

A policeman was shot after pulling over a car in Stain, north Paris, during an “identity check” at 6.55am.

Then at 8.30am the man managed to wrestle a gun from a soldier before being shot dead at Orly Airport.

French police have now confirmed the man was a “radicalised Muslim” known to intelligence services.

The anti-terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation after the incident – and the father and brother of the man have been arrested.

The jihadi is understood to have been stopped by three police officers while making his way to the airport.

He pulled his papers, before producing a gun and shooting one of the cops.

His car sped off, and at some point he is understood to have switched vehicles.

The man, who police said was on a security watch list, had earlier fled the suburb of Stains in a Renault Clio stolen from a woman at gunpoint after opening fire on officers using a pistol, injuring one, during an identity check.

The car was later found abandoned. According to one report, it contained a bloodstained T-shirt.

After arriving at Orly airport, the man snatched a gun from a soldier patrolling the south terminal before being shot dead.

The terror comes as Prince William and Kate Middleton get ready to meet with French President Francois Hollande in Paris - but police said this incident will not impact the Royal visit.

Gun cops swooped on Orly which has 3000 passengers evacuated and had flights diverted to nearby Charles De Gaulle.

Commando police deployed the bomb squad robot amid fears the man was wearing an “explosive belt”.

French Interior Ministry confirmed the man was not carrying explosives.

Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said: “A man took a weapon from a soldier then hid in a shop in the airport before being shot dead by security forces.

Police sources have now confirmed the man’s identity and said he was a radicalized muslim known to the intelligence services. Cops are probing whether the man acted alone. More here.

Update:

Second Suspect in #Orly Airport Attack Detained: (Could be airport staff). https://t.co/XKxQgRAiUT

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) March 18, 2017

ISIS wannabe Suicide bomber dead after anti-terror operation in Ontario town.

ISIS wannabe Suicide bomber dead after anti-terror operation in Ontario town. (Napo).

A suspect whom police feared planned to set off a bomb in a major Canadian city was killed Wednesday by police in a Strathroy home.

More details about what the RCMP describe as a “potential terrorism threat” and a possible link to a heavy police presence in a northwest London neighbourhood are expected to be revealed at a news conference Thursday.

The suspect was identified as Aaron Driver. He was originally from Winnipeg and in his mid 20s. A supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, he was the subject of a peace bond after he was detained by RCMP in Winnipeg in June 2015.

The bond stated there are “reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group.”

A report said the suspect planned to detonate a bomb in public in major Canadian city to inflict mass casualties. Officials feared the attack could have been carried out as early as Wednesday during rush hour. CityNews reports the Toronto Transit Commission and GO Transit were both warned about a possible threat, but not a specific location, before the explosion in Strathroy. Read the full story here.

How Aaron Driver went from troubled childhood to ISIS supporter https://t.co/jT0Rcr9yEy

— Lorrie Goldstein (@sunlorrie) August 11, 2016

Canadian 'Known Wolf' Terrorist Planned Suicide Bombing of Major City, Killed in Overnight Police Operation https://t.co/gBXNZSzy2l

— Jewhadi™ (@JewhadiTM) August 11, 2016

My comments on #AaronDriver last year in June2015 if he was a threat or not. Spoiler: YUP. https://t.co/CrTXbfUHlZ pic.twitter.com/fupu0e493x

— Mubin Shaikh (@MrMubinShaikh) August 11, 2016

Moscow experts call to consider specifics of Islam in preventing recruitment to IS.

Moscow experts call to consider specifics of Islam in preventing recruitment to IS. (CaucasianKnot).

Measures to combat radicalization and recruitment of young people into the ranks of the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS), banned in Russia, should be softer and based on the understanding of the specifics of Islam. This was stated by participants of the round table held in Moscow on June 27-28.

The participants of the round table have come to the conclusion that unreasonable preventive registration at the police stations, criminal prosecution, pressure on Salafis, and impunity of law enforcers provoke radicalization of the youth of Northern Caucasus.

Alexei Malashenko, the chairman of the programme "Religion, Society, and Security" at the Carnegie Moscow Centre, has noted that the IS acts as a political concept of the Islamic alternative.

According to Khabib Magomedov, the chief of the scientific-practical laboratory on combating the ideology of extremism and terrorism, the main factor of the IS influence is in the conflict between Shiites and Sunnis.

The IS positions itself as a religious utopia, confirms Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, the project director for Russia and Northern Caucasus of the International Crisis Group (ICG). According to her, the average age of the IS supporters is 18-25 years old.

Magomed Mutsolgov, the leader of the organization "MASHR" in Ingushetia, believes the main aim of the society, which attempts to prevent radicalization, is to establish a dialogue based on mutual respect.

Pro-ISIS Hacking Group Releases 'Kill List' Targeting Canadians, Containing Over 12,000 names.

Pro-ISIS Hacking Group Releases 'Kill List' Targeting Canadians, Containing Over 12,000 names. (Memri).

On June 28, 2016 the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC), a pro-ISIS hacking group, released a kill list of Canadians on its Telegram channel , which contains over 12,000 entries. However, it should be noted that some of the entries are duplicates. The Telegram post contains an image with the text: “Individual wolves in Canada: A list of 12,000 crusader. Kill them immediately. Enter them home and slay.” The image is accompanied by the text: “#Targeting direct #Canada It wanted to be killed immediately 12,000 Crusader Slay them.”

Video - Orlando shooting Eye Witness Says TWO SHOOTERS & Exit Door HELD SHUT

Video - Orlando shooting Eye Witness Says TWO SHOOTERS & Exit Door HELD SHUT. HT Superstation95

Omar Mateen, who murdered fifty (50) people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando this morning, did NOT act alone; at least one additional male perpetrator assisted in the attack by holding the exit door SHUT so victims could not get out.

An eye witness named Janeil (male), who was inside the club at the time of the attack, personally saw this other individual holding the door shut, and reported this fact on national television . . . but as soon as he uttered the information that there was another man holding the door shut to prevent people from leaving, the news network cut-off his interview!

The important thing to take away from this Breaking News is that the narrative being presented to the public -- a "lone gunman" -- is not true. This was clearly a planned attack and at least one additional perpetrator participated, holding the exit doors shut to prevent victims from escaping!

This man in the video below says there were definitely "Two shooters" because he could hear multiple gunshots coming from different directions. He also confirms there was a THIRD perpetrator, who intentionally HELD THE EXIT DOOR SHUT so people inside the club COULD NOT ESCAPE. Read the full story here.

Related:

Man overheard shooter’s phone conversation; shooter said there were 4 others involved, ‘3 snipers and 1 woman suicide bomber’

Video - Ramadan Massacre at Gay Nightclub in Orlando By David Wood.

Video - 'This attack had all of the hallmarks of an Islamist jihadist attack': Qanta Ahmed.

.@MissDiagnosis: This attack had all of the hallmarks of an Islamist jihadist attackhttps://t.co/cPW93jS9hB

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) June 13, 2016

HT And Source: MissDiagnosis.

Related:

The 8 volume books Fatawa Islamiyah (Islamic Verdicts), which were bought at an Islamic book store at Scarborough, Ontario, provide the Islamic ruling regarding homosexuality (Vol. 6, p. 199):

“The Ruling on Sodomy and the Punishment Thereof
“What is the ruling on sodomy in Islam and what is the punishment?
“The shameful act of sodomy is one of the most repugnant of shameful acts and we seek refuge with Allah (from it). Because of it, Allah destroyed the people of Lut, peace be upon him, and punished them with a terrible punishment, turning their homes upside down and raining stones of baked clay upon them, layer upon layer, (as Allah said): “marked from your Lord and they are not ever far from the wrongdoers.”
“It has been reported from the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, that the punishment for one who does that or allows it to be done to him is that he be killed. Or, to be burnt or to be stoned. Or, to be thrown from the highest point (mountain, tower, lofty building etc.), then to follow it with stoning.
“This is because of its corruption of morals, customs, and because of its violation of the natural human state, and because the abandonment of lawful marriage by those who practice.
“Ibn Jibreen”

The book “24 Hours With The Prophet”, which was distributed for free at the Islamic booth at Dundas Square in Toronto, considers homosexuality a “major sin.”
Imam Syed B. Soharwardy, the founder of Muslims Against Terrorism (MAT) and the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC), said that “According to the teachings of Islam homosexuality is completely forbidden in Islam and it is one of the KABA-IR (major) sins in Islam.”

France - 82 Euro 2016 Security Guards Listed as Potential Terrorists.

France - 82 Euro 2016 Security Guards Listed as Potential Terrorists. (SP).

Eighty-two of an estimated 3,500 private security guards hired for Euro-2016 appear in databases as potential terrorist threats, Le Point wrote citing counterintelligence sources on Monday

According to the French Interior Ministry there will be around 85,000 members of security services, among them 42,000 police officers, 30,000 gendarmes and a number of military and civilian security agents providing security during the championship.

In a statement issued ahead of Euro 2016 UEFA prioritized measures to ensure the security of the players and spectators.

Euro 2016 will be held in France from June 10 through July 10.

Six arrested for smuggling weapons to 'terror' group in Sweden named 'The Muslim Brothers'.

'Peaceful Bosnia' 

Six arrested for smuggling weapons to 'terror' group in Sweden named 'The Muslim Brothers'. (Local).

Bosnian authorities have seized some 40 firearms, around six kilos of explosives, 10 hand grenades, euro 250,000 in cash and an estimated 50 kilos of marijuana, TT reports.

According to Bosnian media reports, police believe that the weapons were destined for a Group in Sweden Calling themselves "Muslimska bröder", or "The Muslim Brothers".

In a statement later made to TT, Bosnian prosecutors said that those arrested, (in Bosnia), had admitted to the offences, although terrorist links were thought unlikely.

"As far as we are aware, [those arrested] are not members of any radical movement, nor do they have links to terrorism."

Swedish authorities have so far declined to comment on the arrests. "We have nothing further to add at this time. We are waiting further information from Bosnia," Carolina Ekéus, spokesperson for Swedish police, said in a written statement.

A spokesperson for Sweden's security service, Säpo, told TT in a written statement that the agency had "no further information" on the reports.

The suspects were arrested on Thursday in the towns of Gradiska and Laktasi, according to the Bosnian interior ministry, TT reports. One individual was arrested "earlier" in Sweden, and two further people are still on the run. The nationality of those arrested has not been disclosed. Hmmm.....We can only guess their religion.....Damn Amish :)

Anti-terror police in #Bosnia arrest five, seize large quantity of weapons bound for Western Europe: ministry pic.twitter.com/WdhDLrtGum

— Balkan Newsbeat (@BalkanNewsbeat) May 12, 2016

'More Islamic State terrorist suspects traveled among incoming refugees than suspected' German Federal Criminal Police.

'More Islamic State terrorist suspects have traveled among incoming refugees than thought' German Federal Criminal Police. (DW).

Since the beginning of the refugee crisis last year, the BKA has received some 369 tipoffs regarding either specific jihadi smugglers or people supporting a terrorist organization, German newspaper "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" reported on Wednesday.

According to statistics provided by the BKA, some 40 investigations have been opened against the suspects, with complaints including the membership in a terrorist organization and the preparation of a serious crime.

The BKA stressed that the threat of a terror attack Germany and Europe remains high.


"More attacks by Islamist terrorist cells cannot be ruled out," the BKA said, adding, however, that they currently have no concrete evidence of a planned attack.

 Politicians from Germany's Left party, however, have warned against anti-refugee "scaremongering."
The Left's domestic policy spokesperson in the Bundestag, Ulla Jelpke, said, "The possibility that individual IS-members - including trained assassins - could be among refugees mustn't lead to asylum seekers from Syria and Iraq generally being suspected of terrorism." Read the full story 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

Australian Boy, 16, arrested over 'Anzac Day terror plot' was in De-radicalization program.

Neil Prakash

Australian Boy, 16, arrested over 'Anzac Day terror plot' was in De-radicalization program. (Smh).

The 16-year-old boy arrested in Sydney on terrorism charges on Sunday afternoon is alleged by police to have chatted about obtaining a gun for use in a terrorist attack. Vision courtesy Ten News.

A 16-year-old boy arrested over an alleged Anzac Day terrorism plot had been in a government-run deradicalisation program for about a year.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, chose not to appear in Parramatta Children's Court on Tuesday for a brief mention two days after his arrest.

His lawyer, Zemarai Khatiz, entered a not guilty plea to one charge of doing an act in preparation or planning for a terrorist act, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The boy was arrested near his Auburn home Sunday afternoon, just hours after police allegedly intercepted an online chat he was having with a man overseas in which he mentioned trying to obtain a firearm and targeting an Anzac Day event on Monday.

He was not considered a "prime target" for counter-terrorism officers but had been on their radar for about a year.

The boy was arrested near his Auburn home Sunday afternoon, just hours after police allegedly intercepted an online chat he was having with a man overseas in which he mentioned trying to obtain a firearm and targeting an Anzac Day event on Monday.

The boy came to the attention of police in May last year after he was intercepted talking ­online to Neil Prakash, a former Melbourne man who had risen to become a key Islamic State figure.

Prakash, who has been involved in several foiled terror plots, was reportedly trying to encourage the teen to launch a Sydney attack to co-ordinate with a Melbourne bombing. Read the full story here.

Related:  
Australian ISIS ’jihadist’ Neil Prakash worked in accounts

Video - Scale of ISIS recruitment in France is being underestimated – jihadist’s mother

Video - Scale of ISIS recruitment in France is being underestimated – jihadist’s mother .

The mother blamed the inaction of the local authorities in the commune of Sevran in the northeastern suburbs of Paris for her son and other youngsters joining the jihadists.

“We had a mosque. In fact, it was a prayer home, which we called Daesh Mosque,” she said, using the pejorative Arabic term for IS. “It wasn’t authorized and it’s closed now.”Read the full story here.

Last Paris attacks suspect at large Mohamed Abrini arrested in Belgium.

Last Paris attacks suspect at large Mohamed Abrini arrested in Belgium. (RT).

The final suspect at large in the Paris terror attacks, Mohamed Abrini, has been arrested, French police officials have confirmed. VRT reported that he is likely the "man in the hat" who was pictured with the Brussels airport bombers.

The 31-year-old was arrested in the Brussels borough of Anderlecht on Friday.

He is believed to be the "man in the hat" pictured with attackers at Brussels airport last month, just before two bomb blasts rocked the premises, VRT cited various sources as saying.

The "man in the hat" left the airport shortly after the blasts and was tracked on CCTV for several miles, into the city center. Investigators released new video footage of him on Thursday, and urged people to look for his discarded coat.

VRT also said that a suspect by the name of Osama Krayem has been arrested in connection with the bombing of Maalbeek metro station in Brussels.

The Belgian federal prosecutor's office has confirmed that several arrests have been made in relation to the Brussels attacks, but provided no further details.

Abrini has been on Europe's most wanted list since being identified on CCTV video in a car with Salah Abdeslam two days before the Paris attacks. Abdeslam is the prime surviving suspect in the attacks. Hmmm.......Still hiding cozy in Brussels. Read the full story here

German Terror Expert: 'Even Germany Is Doing Too Little'.

German Terror Expert: 'Even Germany Is Doing Too Little'. (Spiegel).

In an interview following the Brussels attacks, terrorism expert Peter Neumann discusses the growing threat in Europe. Data sharing between police and intelligence agencies must be vastly increased, he argues.

Neumann: We long assumed that, in the West, IS would focus on inspiring single, independent attackers, the so-called "lone wolves." As a result, many security services were taken by surprise that IS could organize relatively complex attacks so quickly and aggressively.

SPIEGEL: Were all security services wrong in their estimation of IS?


Neumann: A high-ranking official of an intelligence service told me that no one apart from the British had anticipated anything like what we have seen. The Americans were aware of course as well, but they always warn of so many scenarios that they at times aren't even taken seriously anymore.

SPIEGEL: Are there individuals in Germany who have returned from Syria with such missions?
Neumann: Of course.

SPIEGEL: What size are IS' reserves? How many suicide bombers are waiting for their call to action?

Neumann: There are around 5,000 to 6,000 Europeans who have traveled to IS in Syria or in Iraq. Around 15 percent of those are likely to have been killed; between 25 and 50 percent will already have returned. Not every returnee is willing to fight.

But, to contrast the situation with al-Qaida, who 10 years ago had perhaps 200 fighters, the number of people they are potentially able to draw upon is a four-digit figure. There aren't just the returnees, but also the supporters in Europe who have never traveled to Syria -- such as the captured Salah Abdeslam.

SPIEGEL: The exchange of information about suspects at the European level is still lacking, despite the establishment of the European Counter Terrorism Center at Europol, the European police agency, and cooperation between intelligence services.

Neumann: Yes, we have no central database in which all the names of individuals likely to threaten public safety or formal suspects are listed. The Left Party in Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, made a small information request last year, and it emerged the database for foreign fighters contained around 2,000 names -- not even half the number of European jihadists who are fighting abroad.

And only five countries provided data at all. Even the Interpol database of stolen and lost passports is rarely used by European countries. We're not talking about a technical problem here, but a political one. If we want the Schengen area to have open borders, then we need to cooperate within it. Even Germany is doing too little in this regard.

SPIEGEL: On top of this is the fact that police forces and security services have different ways of collecting and interpreting data.


Neumann: In part they're even forbidden from sharing data. In Germany, there is a data separation rule (a post-World War II law that stipulates the separation of the work done by police and intelligence services), which is historically justified. We have to accept though that the vast majority of information about jihadist terrorists is in the hands of the secret services. I think it's sensible that the police have greater access to this information. At the moment we have a situation in Europe where the intelligence services' anti-terror task forces are not working with Europol's anti-terror department. In light of the threat posed, this is absurd.

Peter Neumann, 41, is a professor for security studies at King's College in London. In his latest book published in Germany, "The New Jihadists," he warns that Europe is facing a wave of terrorism that will haunt us for decades to come.

Belgian Fireman Claims: After Brussels Attacks Immigrants were laughing, dancing & making gestures of beheading.

Belgian Fireman claims: After Brussels Attacks Immigrants were laughing, dancing & making gestures of beheading. (DagelijkseStandaard).[GoogleTranslated].

You don't hear the media mention this:

Both the Flemish and Dutch media try a picture today of people who come together and stand united against terrorism. This applies to white Dutch and Belgians and Muslim immigrants (and their children).

As the Brussels fireman Cedric the Valck announces unfortunately this is a far cry from reality the image created by the media. In the real world namely there are hordes of young Muslim youth not crying, but laughing. And they don't reach non-Muslims their hand, but make towards them beheading gestures.

After the attacks of 9/11 (September 11, 2001) there were also cheering young Muslims everywhere and laughing, both in America and in Europe and the Middle East. The same happened after the attacks in London and Madrid. Therefore it is not surprising that these same types now do the same thing in Brussels.

Whether we want to admit it now or not, the fact is that a significant proportion of the Muslim community - especially young people, certainly young people of Moroccan origin - not only tolerates extremists , but sympathizes with them.

Related  News crews 'Greeted' in Brussels after Abdeslam Arrest.

“ISIL recruiting in Minnesota is an ongoing problem,” U.S. Attorney.

“ISIL recruiting in Minnesota is an ongoing problem,” U.S. Attorney.
(NPR).

Fourth Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISIL

Five Co-Defendants Expected to Go to Trial in May 2016.

Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame, 20, of Egan, Minnesota, pleaded guilty today to an information charging him with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization. The defendant pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis of the District of Minnesota.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota and Special Agent in Charge Richard T. Thornton of the FBI’s Minneapolis Division made the announcement.

“With his guilty plea, Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame has admitted to conspiring to provide material support to ISIL,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Warsame was part of a group of individuals who sought to travel to Syria to fight with the designated foreign terrorist organization. The National Security Division’s highest priority is counterterrorism, and we will continue to work to stem the flow of foreign fighters abroad and hold accountable those who conspire to provide material support to terrorists.”

A 20-year-old Eagan, Minn., man could become the second person to enter the country's only jihadi rehab program.

Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State, and while he awaits sentencing, three sources familiar with the case tell NPR that he is likely to join a defendant named Abdullahi Yusuf in the emerging de-radicalization program in the Twin Cities.

Until recently, U.S. counterterrorism officials had seen building a curriculum to defuse extremist ideology as unnecessary — there weren't enough young men and women seeking to join terrorist organizations to make rehabilitation a priority. Instead, incarceration seemed like enough of an answer.

The Islamic State's incredible hold on young Muslims in America has changed all that. Dozens of young men and women from the Twin Cities area have either tried to travel to Syria to join ISIS or have been arrested while seeking to do so.

That's what happened in the Warsame case. According to his plea agreement, throughout 2014 he and a group of his friends got together to discuss going to Syria to join ISIS. They talked about pooling funds to pay for the plane tickets and potential routes from Minnesota to Syria, the plea says. Warsame admitted to applying for an expedited passport to travel overseas to join the terrorist group. He also admitted that he was the leader, or "emir," of the group of ISIS travelers and said he had been in contact with someone who was in Syria fighting for ISIS to plan the trip.

"ISIL recruiting in Minnesota is an ongoing problem," said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger in a statement. 

"Federal law enforcement and our local partners remain dedicated to ending terror recruitment in our state. One of the important factors we believe will help stop the recruiting pipeline is for those who have been charged to take responsibility for their crimes. I am encouraged that today Mr. Warsame is doing just that. He has now taken the first step to help himself begin the process of rehabilitation and help our entire community begin to heal."

Luger's statement hints at what is likely to happen next for Warsame. A nonprofit organization called Heartland Democracy has been building a curriculum for Yusuf, the only other young man in the jihadi rehab program. The group has only just started helping with terrorism offenders, but in the past it has worked with "turnarounds," people who are in the criminal justice system for one reason or another who want to get their lives back on track. Read the full story here, more here.

@marybethaltier Interesting, thanks! Knew he went to halfway house, violated deal, was sent back to jail. Didn't know about rehab program.

— Adam Jacobson (@adamdjacobson) February 12, 2016