The Jerusalem Post BDS and terrorism: A response to the MSA report By JESSICA MONTELL  Two days before he competed in the Likud primary, Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan stood before the cameras against a backdrop of a terrorist morphing into an executive and the headlines: “We exposed over 100 links of terror groups with BDS organizations”; and “We identified 30 past or present terrorists filling roles in 13 BDS organizations”.“Terrorists in Suits” is the title of the Ministry’s new report, which purports to shows the ties between terror groups and NGOs promoting BDS (boycotts, divestments and sanctions against Israel). Yet the facts presented in the report do not live up to the scary headlines. A terrorist is defined not by the goal he tries to achieve, but by the methods he adopts to achieve that goal, specifically the use of violence against civilians. Read more: https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/BDS-and-terrorism-A-response-to-the-MSA-report-580617...

Standard Digital By Wainaina Wambu Undercover operatives have been deployed to selected hotels, malls and public institutions as the Government strengthens its counter-terrorism measures. National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) Director Martin Kimani said this was part of a response to the 14 Riverside Drive terror attack last month that left 21 Kenyans dead. He was speaking yesterday during the launch of a report titled Understanding the Impact of Violent Extremism on Kenya's Private Sector that was prepared by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance.“We have certain hotels and malls where we are working actively with owners and security managers to upgrade their surveillance using their CCTV and security guards, and our own undercover operatives," said Mr Kimani.He said NCTC would ensure that private security companies and police stations closest to these businesses were ready to respond to any terrorist attack. Read more:  https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/mobile/amp/article/2001312897/spies-deployed-in-hotels-malls-in-new-counter-terrorism-measures...

Mirror UK ISIS unleashes suicide bombers in 'final battle' to keep final stronghold in SyriaThe final battle to defeat the Islamic State is underway in Baghouz, with the terror organisation holed up in a small cluster of farmhouses and underground tunels By Elaine McCahillAssistant News Editor ISIS forces have unleashed suicide bombers in a last-ditch attempt to keep their final stronghold in Syria.The terrorist organisation holds just one per cent of the area it used to control and could be wiped out by fighters supported by US and British troops within days.The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) seized ground in a fierce battle on Saturday in the third day of fighting for Baghouz.According to figures from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, there were losses on both sides with 13 ISIS fighters, including five suicide bombers, killed alongside five fighters from the SDF. Read more: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/isis-unleash-suicide-bombers-last-13984448...

The Jerusalem Post By ANNA AHRONHEIM With tensions high along Israel’s northern border, soldiers from the IDF’s 401st Armored Brigade are completing a large-scale drill simulating war with Hezbollah.“This drill simulated what will need to be done during a war with Hezbollah,” Maj. Tsur Goldman of the 401st Armored Brigade told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. While most drills take place in the Ramat HaGolan, hundreds of troops drilled for two weeks in the northern Jordan Valley in challenging mountainous terrain which is similar to the terrain found in southern Lebanon and on a variety of scenarios including urban combat.According to Goldman, “there is a good feeling among the soldiers that we will complete our mission,” especially after they finished a 17 week long training “which allowed us to go from looking at the most basic thing to in depth to the smallest detail.”The IDF has significantly stepped up the...

Wellsville Daily Republic By Staff reports ALBANY — Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Counter Terrorism conducted counter terrorism exercises at 1,000 locations in 2018.During each exercise, counter terrorism experts from state and local agencies go undercover as customers and assess the ability of businesses to recognize and report suspicious activity. The 1,000 exercises conducted in 2018 represents a 56 percent increase in these operations since 2016 when Governor Cuomo directed the Division to expand them in his State of the State Address. Additionally, the Division also partnered with federal, state, and local law enforcement for “Operation NY-SECURE” which involved the completion of 20 counter terrorism and incident response exercises at rail stations throughout the state.“New York State will never be intimidated by the threat of terrorism, but we will always be prepared when it rears its cowardly head,” Governor...

The Japan Times Fleeing Islamic State bastion, French women say more foreigners are still trapped insideNEAR BAGHOUZ, SYRIA - Two French women who fled the Islamic State group’s last pocket in Syria told AFP on Monday more foreigners were trapped inside, barred from leaving by Iraqi jihadis.The Muslim converts said they paid smugglers to take them out of the battered IS-held holdout of Baghouz to territory held by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.They said “massacres” had taken place in Baghouz, where others are still trapped with “nothing to eat.“There are many French, many muhajireen (foreign women who joined IS) and others who are trying to leave but they (IS) don’t let us,” said one.“They said only the Syrians and Iraqis can be smuggled out,” said the woman, who said her first name was Christelle, from the city of Bordeaux.She spoke to AFP from the back of a pickup truck packed...

European Welfare Systems’ Inadvertent Support for Terrorists Counter Extremism Project by Luisa Roemer In 2017, European security services uncovered that Islamist domestic terrorists and foreign fighters received social welfare payments totaling more than two million euros between 2012 and 2016. Among the primary reasons for the lack of governmental oversight were insufficient coordination between government authorities combined with unclear division of responsibilities, legislative loopholes, and missing control mechanisms.ISIS generates most of its wealth in Syria from oil sales, taxation, extortion, and confiscation of property and cash. However, a smaller portion of the terror group’s revenue originates from Europe, collected through donations from ISIS-sympathizers, charity scams, and—notably—social welfare payments.For example, Anis Amri, the perpetrator of the December 2016 Christmas market attack in Berlin, used multiple identities to apply for asylum and to over-claim for social welfare benefits in Germany. It is likely that Amri received a monthly stipend of €135, housing...

Fox 5 NY NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Counterterrorism Advisory Panel released a report making several recommendations on how the state can bolster its counterterrorism readiness.The panel's goal was to come up with recommendations to bolster security at major transportation hubs, such as the airports and rail stations.The report cited problems at Penn Station, highlighting the need for uniform crisis response training, a confusing layout of the station, and limited crisis response technology, among other problems. The panel's recommended that each transit hub have its own state-of-the-art command station so that the various law enforcement agencies operating there can coordinate more efficiently. Read more: http://www.fox5ny.com/news/counterterrorism-panel-penn-station...

Department of Justice Press Release Jesus Wilfredo Encarnacion Was Arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport While Allegedly Attempting to Travel Overseas to Join Lashkar e-TayyibaA New York man was charged today with attempting and conspiring to provide material support to Lashkar e-Tayyiba (“LeT”), a Pakistan-based designated foreign terrorist organization responsible for multiple high-profile attacks, including the infamous Mumbai attacks in Nov. 2008.  Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York, the Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney of the FBI New York Field Office and Commissioner James P. O’Neill of the Police Department for the City of New York (NYPD) made the announcement.Jesus Wilfredo Encarnacion, a.k.a. “Jihadistsoldgier,” “Jihadinhear,” “Jihadinheart,” “Lionofthegood,” was arrested last night at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in Queens, New York.  Encarnacion is expected to be presented later today before...

Clarion Project By Ran Meir The Venezuelan regime under controversial President Nicolas Maduro is rather cozy with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization, as Clarion’s Shillman Fellow Ran Meir explains… Amid the ongoing crisis between the U.S. and Venezuela, we’ve learned more of the strong ties between Caracas and the Lebanese-based Hezbollah. The more we dig, the more gold we find – in this case, quite literally. As soon as President Donald Trump announced his support for opposition leader Juan Guaido, Hezbollah upped its rhetoric in favor of Maduro and condemned what it saw as an attempted coup planned by Washington. America wants to destabilize Venezuela and control its mines, Hezbollah contended, adding that D.C. is intent on punishing any nation that does not agree to U.S. hegemony. A delegation of senior Hezbollah officials just visited the Venezuela embassy in Beirut in a show of solidarity. Read more: https://clarionproject.org/venezuelas-maduro-entrenches-with-hezbollah/...

Military Times Spec Ops launches ‘secret surrogate’ missions in new counter-terror strategy By: Kyle Rempfer U.S. counter-terrorism missions will soon place more emphasis on a little-known Pentagon program designed to help “surrogate forces,” rather than traditional allied units that are dependent on U.S. training, advice and assistance.The shift comes as the Defense Department implements the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which prioritizes near-peer adversaries like China and Russia ahead of violent extremist organizations like the Islamic State.“This evolving counter-terrorism [CT] operation construct will place even greater emphasis on successful programs, such as the 127 Echo program, which provides us viable surrogate forces designed to achieve U.S. CT objectives at relatively low cost in terms of resources and especially risk to our personnel,” Maj. Gen. James Hecker, vice director for operations from the joint staff, said during a congressional testimony Wednesday. Read more: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/02/08/fighting-terrorism-may-rely-on-secret-surrogate-forces-going-forward/...

The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center At the Israeli Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center Following is an overview of the situation in Syria: In the “pocket” along the Euphrates Valley, ISIS operatives halted the SDF forces and regained control of two villages in the southern part of their control area. In the ITIC’s assessment, this is only a temporary success for ISIS, and the military pressure on ISIS operatives in the “pocket” is expected to be renewed. In the meantime, ISIS operatives have reportedly initiated negotiations with the SDF and the International Coalition in order to arrange for their operatives to leave the “pocket.” These negotiations have proved unsuccessful (up to now). The position of the SDF and the Coalition is that ISIS must surrender unconditionally. According to an announcement by US officials, the SDF is holding some 850 foreign fighters who joined ISIS, and their return to...

  by Raymond Ibrahim  •  Gatestone Institute The new terrorism in the Philippines is not merely inspired by political or territorial grievances, real or imagined, but rather is imbued with intrinsic hate for the "other" — for the "infidel." In May 2017, in the city of Marawi, a civilian bus was stopped by jihadis; when 9 passengers were discovered to be Christian — apparently because they were not able to quote the Koran — they were tied together and shot dead, execution style. The jihadis who took over Marawi during the uprising forced women into sex-slavery and ordered Christian men embrace Islam or be used as human shields against the Philippine Army. January's deadly church-bombing, which claimed 20 lives and wounded more than 100, is the latest reminder that, as with other nations that have a sizeable Muslim minority, the Philippines is embroiled in the jihad. While the ostensible reason...

By Clarion Project Muslim reformer Dr. Tawfik Hamid shares an inside look at brainwashing tactics used by radicals. These tactics were some the techniques used to radicalize him, before he broke free from Islamic militancy.    I’ll tell you from my personal experience what happened to me. The first day I was going to pray in the Jamaat-e-Islami mosque in our medical school. It [Jamaat-e-Islami] was legal back then in our medical school. I was invited by them to join because they recognized certain abilities in me. They asked me to join them and I was very excited to be invited, truly, to be invited by them. They were respected at that time. I met with some guy in front of the anatomy department [on campus]. He took me walking to the mosque of the radical group, Jamaat-e-Islami…    The first lesson I learned was [that] if I started to think, I...

The Jerusalem Post An emerging threat: family terror networks Family-affiliated terrorists include group leaders, operational cadres, active supporters and passive supporters. By DEAN ALEXANDER Family terror networks (or alternatively, family-affiliated terrorism) involve two or more people from the same clan who support the threat or use of terrorism. Kin terrorism has appeared across diverse views, from religiously motivated precepts to national liberation, and from hate-based ideologies to other viewpoints. Family structures enable higher instances of conversion to radical beliefs, given the imprimatur of credibility and trust that attaches within the family unit as opposed to unaffiliated networks.This subset of terrorists comprises a full range of socioeconomic, racial, religious, ethnic, national-origin and foreign-affinity ties. Terrorists aligned with hierarchical and network groups and unaffiliated cabals are represented in this form of terrorism as well. Family-affiliated terrorists include group leaders, operational cadres, active supporters and passive supporters. They use terrorist tactics including bombings,...

Patch Here's why these six threats pose danger to New Jersey, and here are 6 people who have caused the most trouble. By Tom Davis, Patch National Staff Terrorism is still a big threat to New Jersey – but it's not presenting itself in a way you may remember, or expect.The 2019 Terrorism Threat Assessment was released this past week, detailing what it considers the "threat landscape" throughout New Jersey and who has caused and perpetuated the biggest dangers.The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness has identified at least six forms of terrorism that are the biggest threats in New Jersey. "The threats to New Jersey and around the country are constantly evolving, and we have had to adapt our methods of prevention and response," said Jared Maples, director of NJ Office of Homeland Security. " Read more: https://patch.com/new-jersey/pointpleasant/6-biggest-terrorism-threats-facing-nj-right-now-report-says...

Japan Times Mercenaries are 'feeding off' transnational terrorism and crime, says U.N. chief Antonio GuterresAPUNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that reports suggest there has been “a surge in the use of mercenaries,” who are not only fighting in wars and illegally exploiting natural resources but are now “feeding off” transnational organized crime, terrorism and violent extremism.The U.N. chief called for much broader support for regional and international conventions against the use of mercenaries and said those compacts need to be updated. He also called for prosecuting mercenaries and for strengthening efforts at preventing people, especially the young, from being recruited as mercenaries.Guterres told the Security Council that while “the shadowy nature” of mercenaries makes data hard to come by, their impact is clear in the worsening of conflicts, weakened stability of countries, the undermining of the rule of law and the large numbers of people forced...

Washington Post By Wilson Ring | APRICHFORD, Vt. — It was about 2 a.m. on a moonless October night in 1987 when the police chief of a small northern Vermont town spotted a man carrying a black bag and walking down the railroad tracks from Canada toward a waiting van about a mile south of the border.The man turned out to be linked to a Lebanese extremist group. And in his bag, later recovered from a ditch, were a ski mask and a propane-canister bomb.“If it had been two minutes later, they would have been in the van and gone on their way, and I’d have never known the difference,” recalled Richford’s long-retired police chief, Richard Jewett, who won numerous awards for apparently foiling an attack. “I guess luck was on my side.”Whether it was luck or not, Jewett beat the odds in a way. While President Donald Trump, in arguing for...

Muslim Community Patrol Opens in NYC — Good Idea? By Clarion Project New York’s Muslim community has joined the ranks of minority groups who have organized their own security-based patrols.Decked out with insignia identical to that of New York City police patrol cars (except for the name), the Muslim Community Patrol (MCP) is watching over parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn that have large Muslim communities.The idea of minorities groups guarding their own began in New York’s pre-Mayor Rudy Giuliani crime-ridden days when Jewish communities found themselves at the brunt of many muggings, robberies, assaults and anti-Semitic incidents with inadequate police protection.Communities in Brooklyn formed a citizen’s patrol at the time called “Shomrim,” or guards. Since that time, Shromrim branched out to other cities, including Baltimore, and even to Jewish communities in the UK.In 2014, a group of Asian-Americans opened a similar patrol in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, complete with walkie-talkies,...

NBC 15 by Andrea Ramey MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) —  An officer was shot and killed in the line of duty in Ohio Saturday night. It’s been a violent start to 2019 for the men and women in uniform. This is the 5th officer gunned down this year.During a nearly 12-hour standoff with police, investigators say, a suicidal suspect fired rounds from his apartment near Cincinnati, Ohio."When there was actually gunfire, we were ducking behind vehicles," said neighbor Amanda Sumner.Two officers were shot, one fatally. Detective Bill Brewer was a 20 year veteran of the force and leaves behind a wife and a 5 year old son."When they put him on the gurney to take him, they had ripped his vest off and were applying pressure and saying, 'please stay with us, please stay with us.' So, in my mind, I thought, how many more is this going to happen to,"...