Bringing Down IRGC’s Terrorist Networks Tricky But Necessary – AnalysisEurasia Review By Dr. Theodore Karasik  By order of President Donald Trump, the US State Department is designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in its entirety, including the Quds Force. The administration sees this as a necessary step to counter Iran-backed terrorism around the world. Criminal prosecutions are now easier but still complicated.Many are divided on the designation, arguing that such a move means that the IRGC will quickly engage American troops or attack US targets anywhere in the world, but more specifically in the lands that Iran occupies or influences in the Middle East. Also, the US will pursue criminal cases against anybody who interacts with the IRGC or any of its octopus-like tentacles in Asia, Europe and Latin America.It is important to understand...

The Washington Post By Rachel WeinerA man who was under investigation for suspected interest in Islamic extremism was convicted Tuesday of sending pornographic images to a 15-year-old girl and trying to coerce her to respond in kind.Seitu Kokayi, 30, had taught the girl at an Islamic school in D.C. since she was 6 or 7, according to trial testimony. But over several weeks in August, when she was visiting family in Minnesota, he began engaging her in sexual conversations and video chats.Federal law enforcement officials had obtained a secret wiretap on Kokayi’s phone based on classified intelligence, according to court filings. Prosecutors previously produced evidence that Kokayi shared extremist propaganda with the girl and other students, but they did not raise those allegations at trial.Prosecutor Kellan Dwyer described Kokayi as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” a “trusted teacher” who used that relationship to pressure the girl to engage in sexual...

More police quick response teams to boost Singapore's counter-terrorism effortsThe Straits Times by Fabian KohSINGAPORE - Singapore's counter-terrorism response will be given a boost, with more police quick response teams to be deployed at busy locations.In-Situ Reaction Team (IRT) officers were first deployed in December 2017 and patrols will be increased in popular areas such as Orchard Road and Marina Bay to heighten security during festive periods.Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam announced the measure on Thursday (April 11), emphasising the need for a robust counter-terrorism capability. He cited the Christchurch shootings last month, to show how terror attacks can happen anytime and anywhere."If it can happen in New Zealand, it can happen anywhere. New Zealand is one of the last places you would expect an attack," said Mr Shanmugam at the police force's annual workplan seminar held at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Read...

By Andrew O'Reilly | Fox News President Trump on Monday formally labeled Iran's Revolutionary Guard a "foreign terrorist organization," in Washington’s first such designation for an entire foreign government entity.The announcement, which officials said would put the military organization on the same level as terror groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, is the latest administration step to increase pressure on Iran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, citing the IRGC's ties to terror plots, said the designation recognizes a "basic reality."“This designation is a direct response to an outlaw regime and should surprise no one,” he said. “The IRGC masquerades as a legitimate military organization, but none of us should be fooled.”The designation imposes sanctions that include freezes on assets the IRGC may have in U.S. jurisdictions and a ban on Americans doing business with it. The move also allows the U.S. to deny entry to people found to have provided the...

Frisco Enterprise by Kelsey Samuels The 18-year-old Plano teen who plotted an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco pleaded guilty, Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis and U.S. Attorney Joe Brown announced Monday. Matin Azizi-Yarand was sentenced to 20 years in prison for criminal solicitation of capital murder and 10 years for terrorist threats. Azizi-Yarand planned his terrorist attack for Stonebriar during Ramadan 2018 to lessen the number of Muslim casualties. According to his arrest affidavit, between December and April, Azizi-Yarand expressed a desire to punish America for “slaughtering the (Muslims)” and “Make the kaffar (disbelievers) tremble.” In January, he recruited two other men to join his attack and through March and April, he surveyed the Frisco shopping center and took notes on ways to kill officers stationed around the mall.Over the months, he unknowingly collaborated with undercover officers as part of the FBI’s North Texas Joint Terrorism...

India and Israel should lead the fight on terrorism The Jerusalem Post Each country’s unique approach to counterterrorism would make a perfect combination. By Devsena Mishra Repeated terrorist attacks on democratic countries continue to raise questions on their ability to unite against militant Islamic terrorism. While it’s true that democracies are not the only targets of terrorist groups, their Islamist leaders openly show their disdain for democracy, as they see this idea as a serious threat to their core concept of world domination. In a scenario where one group is fighting for a common cause and the other is not even able to develop a common consensus, it seems that this clash is going to exist for much longer than the civilized world anticipated.In 1984, at the “2nd International Conference on Terrorism” organized by the Jonathan Institute, a group of political leaders, parliamentarians, scholars, security officials and senior journalists from...

The Coin Telegraph By Adrian Zmudzinski   G20 member countries will meet to discuss international cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulation on June 8 and 9 in Fukuoka, Japan. The news was revealed in a report from local news outlet Kyodo on April 4.Per the report, and in accordance with official plans, G20 central bank governors and finance ministers will take part in the meeting. The event will be focused on establishing a framework to combat crypto-enabled money laundering and terrorism financing.Further, according to the Kyodo, it is expected that “it was revealed” on April 4 that the countries are expected to reach an agreement over new regulations during this meeting. The report states that the main aim is anti-anonymity. Namely, the group is reportedly looking to establish stricter identification of individuals transacting in crypto at the moment of transaction, to keep asset flow transparent. Read more: https://cointelegraph.com/news/g20-to-establish-crypto-aml-and-counter-terrorism-financing-regulations-in-june-report  ...

The Phnom Penh Post by Niem Chheng Lieutenant General Hun Manet, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and the commander of the army’s infantry, is to visit the US from April 8 to 12 to attend the Pacific Area Special Operations Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. US embassy spokesperson Emily Zeeberg confirmed on Monday that Hun Manet was to participate in a “brief, technical-level, multilateral conference focused on counter-terrorism”. He was invited in his capacity as Commander of the National Counter-Terrorism Special Forces (NCTSF) as one of approximately 36 commanders of counter-terrorism units from Indo-Pacific nations. Zeeberg said the US has worked with the Cambodian military for many years on a wide variety of transnational issues, including counter-terrorism, maritime safety, training troops for peacekeeping operations, combating threats to international maritime security and responding to natural disasters and humanitarian crises. “The US believes a productive military-to-military relationship can help...

India Blooms News Service “Terrorism is a very significant threat to Egypt's stability, from Libya, Sinai and the South, so they are kind of uniquely positioned to be responding to a whole range of threats in that theater. For us, it's a very, very important partnership that we want to expand,” the official said on Monday. The official noted that Egypt plays an important diplomatic role in negotiating with Hamas, and is working to persuade the Palestinian movement to comply with the conditions that would move them out of being considered a terrorist organization. In 2017, Fatah and Hamas signed an Egypt-brokered agreement to put Gaza back under the Palestinian National Authority's control, but the deal has not been implemented so far. Russia is one of mediators in both, the Israeli-conflict and the intra-Palestinian talks. The Trump's administration, meanwhile, has also been working on its peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian...

In Homeland Security By Nikita MalikForbesThere is no doubt that those who went to join Islamic State were attracted by a deeply regressive and dangerous Islamist ideology. Yet, the decision to strip fighters of their British citizenship (including the recent decision by Home Secretary Sajid Javid to do this to returnee hopeful Shamima Begum) has unleashed a chorus of condemnation from almost every progressive commentator in the land.Javid’s decision makes many – including me – uncomfortable. For all intents and purposes, Shamima Begum is British – Bethnal Green was the only home that she had ever known – and we must be cautious about playing fast and loose with laws on citizenship stripping.  Moreover, preventing Begum’s entry to the UK (even if it is legally possible) is unlikely to solve the problem of what to do with her. Bangladesh, the proposed option, is disowning her.  It is quite possible that,...

Dearborn Islamic School Linked to Iran, Hezbollah Propagandists Clarion Project By Ryan Mauro with Justen Charters and Alex VanNess Clarion Project has discovered that a private Islamic school in Dearborn, Michigan is linked to diehard supporters of Hezbollah and the Iranian regime. The school teaches students from kindergarten through 9th grade.Great Revelations Academy was founded in 2015 by open supporters of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. By their own admission, the school’s founders are dedicated to spreading his message.Fadlallah was a supporter of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and is considered to be a key inspirer of Hezbollah. Some go so far as to describe him as the terrorist group’s “spiritual leader.”Fadlallah supported the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. Marines (who were serving as peacekeepers) as well as 58 French troops and six civilians.In 2005, he reiterated his support for suicide...

Daily Caller News Foundation Who Is Kevin McAleenan, The Upcoming Leader Of Homeland Security?by Jason Hopkins Kirstjen Nielsen will officially vacate her position atop the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, leaving Kevin McAleenan as the acting head.President Donald Trump, frustrated over the growing immigration crisis on the U.S. southern border, accepted Nielsen’s resignation after meeting with her at the White House on Sunday. The president went on to announce that McAleenan, the current commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will be taking over her position in an acting capacity. Who is McAleenan and how will he likely manage the illegal migrant crisis?The soon-to-be DHS secretary touts nearly two decades of experience working in immigration enforcement. A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, McAleenan worked for some time as an attorney in California. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, however, prompted him to apply for the FBI, but...

Russia's Military Must Leave Venezuela Immediately   by Jiri Valenta  •  Gatestone Institute   Russia was considering deploying strategic bombers full-time in Venezuela, according to the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, as reported by Moscow Times. The Russian media outlet also reported that an agreement had been reached between Moscow and Caracas to allow the deployment of Russian aircraft at a military base Venezuela's Caribbean island of La Orchila, where Russian advisers were dispatched in December. It is urgent for Washington to act before Russia and Venezuela reach their imminent formal military agreement. At the same time, NATO membership should be offered to Brazil, a major ally, and economic aid should be provided to Columbia. "[China and Russia] back Maduro to the hilt because they have much to lose if his leftist government falls. Both maintain crucial military facilities in the country... In recent months, China, the regime's largest creditor, has...

NBC New York Suspect Charged With Terrorism in FIT Gun Scare: NYPD By Marc Santia, Wale Aliyu and Jonathan Dienst A Fashion Institute of Technology student was arrested in connection with a gun scare that sent the school in Manhattan into lockdown Friday, law enforcement sources said.Noah Lee, 22, of Manhattan, was charged with terrorism and weapons charges, the NYPD said early Saturday. It wasn't immediately clear whether Lee had an attorney. The school issued a "shelter in place" after students reported a video circulating on social media that showed the student in a school stairwell with what appeared to be a gun, FIT said in a statement. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun, law enforcement sources said. The student was taken into custody at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square, according to FIT. Read more: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Suspect-Arrested-After-Sparking-Gun-Scare-at-FIT-Sources-508186971.html...

Washington Post Monitor: IS militants blew themselves up in Syria’s Raqqa By Associated PressBEIRUT — Islamic State militants blew themselves up following clashes with the U.S.-backed Syrian forces in the Syrian city of Raqqa, which was liberated from the extremists nearly two years ago, a war monitor said Wednesday.The U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces first confirmed then denied the report.The conflicting reports could not be immediately reconciled, and reflected the precarious security situation in the city, which the militants once called their capital, and which remains plagued with lawlessness despite efforts to rebuild.SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali called the initial news a “misunderstanding.” Bali said the explosion was caused by a land mine that wounded people. Another activist group, Raqqa Being Slaughtered Silently, said a land mine that went off in the western part of Raqqa killed two people.But Rami Abdurrahman, head of Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said militants attacked...

USA Today New Zealand mosque shooting suspect faces 50 murder charges, 39 attempted murder charges Nick Perry, Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The man accused of carrying out the Christchurch mosque attacks will face 50 murder charges and 39 attempted murder charges when he makes his second court appearance, New Zealand police said Thursday.Police had earlier filed a single, representative murder charge against 28-year-old Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant. He is due to appear via video link during a brief hearing on Friday, and won’t be required to enter a plea.Fifty people died in the March 15 attacks on two mosques and another 50 were injured.Police said in a brief statement that they were considering filing more charges against the alleged shooter but couldn’t comment further as the case was before the court.Tarrant’s first appearance was on the day after the attacks in the Christchurch District Court. His case has...

Jihad Watch by Robert Spencer “If I did not harm to anyone, if I committed no harm in Syria for four years, what kind of threat can I be to Britain?”That she committed no harm in Syria for four years remains unproven, and even if it is true, she was in the Islamic State, and she was a true believer; to whom could she do harm there other than the occasional Infidel sex slave? But in Britain, she could aid in jihad recruitment, in which she has engaged before, raise jihadi children, and more.“I know the British public, they are scared, they don’t want to deal with us, but they must deal with us.”Why must they? And the answer is likely this: because Theresa May and/or Jeremy Corbyn will force them to do so.“I feel British, but Britain refuses to take us.” Read more: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/04/isis-recruiter-demands-to-return-to-uk-the-british-are-scared-they-dont-want-to-deal-with-us-but-they-must...

Department of Justice Office of Public AffairsMissouri Man Pleads Guilty to Providing Material Support to TerroristsRamiz Zijad Hodzic, 44, of St. Louis County, Missouri, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and one count of providing material support to terrorists.  Hodzic appeared today before Judge Catherine D. Perry who accepted his plea and set his sentencing for June 18, 2019.  Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey B. Jensen for the Eastern District of Missouri and Special Agent in Charge Richard Quinn of the FBI’s St. Louis Division made the announcement.Charged in the indictment are: Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, his wife Sedina Unkic Hodzic, and Armin Harcevic, all of St. Louis County, Missouri, Nihad Rosic, of Utica, New York, and Mediha Medy Salkicevic, of Schiller Park, Illinois.  All defendants are charged with conspiring to provide material support and resources...

Forbes Why We Must Use The Rome Statute To Prosecute Terrorists For Human Traffickingby Nikita Malik, Cybersecurity Previously, I have written about how terrorist groups are increasingly involved in human trafficking, whereby women and girls of ideologically opposed groups or religions are targeted. This phenomenon involves the perpetration of various forms of sexual violence against the victims of trafficking.The commission of the interlinked crimes of human trafficking, sexual violence, and terrorism is relatively new, encompassing a vicious cycle in which each crime effectively flows from the commission of the others: sexual violence is facilitated by human trafficking, human trafficking is motivated, in part, by sexual violence, and both crimes spread terror among civilian populations.In light of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) signaling the possibility of investigating crimes of human trafficking committed in Libya, I co-wrote an academic article last month arguing that the link between human trafficking,...

The Jerusalem Post Israeli intelligence allegedly shared the new information with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri of the secret facility on his state visit in March. By Uri Bollag Hezbollah has built a new missile factory in Beirut with the help of Iran, a Channel 13 report revealed on Monday night.Israeli intelligence reportedly shared the new information with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri of the secret facility on his state visit to Lebanon in March and expressed his concern about the threat the terrorist organization poses to the country. Read more: https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hezbollah-established-new-missile-factory-in-Beirut-report-585459...