Who Gets Blamed if ISIS Fighters Come Back? Gatestone Institute by Con Coughlin  US President Donald Trump personally made a number of appeals to European leaders requesting they do more to take responsibility for their ISIS-affiliated nationals... the Europeans refused to budge, arguing that having them return home would increase the risk of Islamist-inspired acts of terrorism.... There is now the very real prospect that ISIS, which only a year ago had suffered a catastrophic defeat with the destruction of its so-called caliphate, will be able to regroup as hordes of liberated fighters from Europe and elsewhere rejoin its ranks. If that happens, and ISIS succeeds in launching a new wave of terror attacks against Western targets, European leaders will have only themselves to blame for failing to accept responsibility for the actions of their citizens, no matter how reprehensible they might be. Read more: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15038/isis-prisoners-return...

Al-Monitor Behind Egypt's gift to Islamic Jihad by Shlomi Eldar About 80 members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad were released from an Egyptian jail on Oct. 17. Some had been detained without trial, and others had been sentenced by a Cairo state security court to lengthy jail terms for membership in a terror organization and threatening Egypt’s national security.The release followed an Oct. 14 meeting between senior Islamic Jihad officials, led by the organization’s head, Ziad Nahala, and senior Egyptian intelligence officials. Nahala, who arrived in Cairo from Beirut, was joined by leaders of Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, from Gaza, including the commander of the northern division, Baha Abu al-Ata, whom Israel considers a serial troublemaker. These were not the first talks between an Islamic Jihad delegation and heads of Egyptian intelligence, but in the past, they had always been joined by Hamas representatives summoned to Cairo to...

FOX6 Mexican lawmen get FBI training to combat organized crime, terrorism by Nexstar Media Group JUAREZ, Mexico (Border Report) — Three Chihuahua state lawmen recently completed intelligence and intervention training courses sponsored by the FBI, according to the State Security Commission.Alvaro Serrano Escobedo, the commission’s operations director, received training on anti-terrorism, intelligence gathering, leadership and the combat of organized crime at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. The training is part of the FBI’s Mexican Law Enforcement Executive Development (MEXLEED) program, the commission said in a news release.Ginés Jaime Ruiz García, first officer of the Chihuahua State Police, and Jesús Alejandro Cruz Rangel, who heads rural operations for the agency, attended the FBI’s Mexican American Liaison and Law Enforcement Training (MALLET) program in South Padre Island, Texas, the commission said. Read more: https://fox6now.com/2019/10/21/mexican-lawmen-get-fbi-training-to-combat-organized-crime-terrorism/...

The National French Foreign Minister Talks Trying Thousands Of ISIS Suspects In Iraq The minister is in Iraq to discuss a mechanism to avoid European nations repatriating suspected militants France's top diplomat held talks in Baghdad on Thursday about transferring foreign militants from northern Syria, where a Turkish offensive has triggered fears of mass jailbreaks, to be tried in Iraq.European governments are worried that the Turkish operation will allow the escape of some of the 12,000 suspected ISIS group fighters – including thousands of foreigners – held by Syrian Kurds.The issue was top of the agenda for French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in his talks with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Ali Al Hakim, President Barham Saleh and Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. Read more: https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/french-foreign-minister-talks-trying-thousands-of-isis-suspects-in-iraq-1.925009...

Miami Herald South Florida Man Found Guilty Of Sending Weapons To Colombian Terrorist Group By Jay Weaver A South Florida man pleaded guilty Thursday to shipping a cache of weapons inside air compressors to a violent Colombian rebel group at the center of an uncommon U.S. terrorism-support case.Francisco Joseph Arcila Ramirez, who is a legal permanent resident in the United States, reached a plea agreement convicting him of providing “material support to a foreign terrorist organization,” the ELN, a leftist group that was responsible for the deadly bombing of a Bogotá police academy in January of this year. The group, also known as the National Liberation Army, did not use any weapons from Ramirez’s shipment in that attack, however.Arcila, 36, faces up to 20 years in prison on the sole terrorism-support charge Dec. 19 before U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez. Related conspiracy and weapons charges will be dropped at that...

Federal Bureau of Investigation 2018 Crime Statistics Released Violent Crime, Property Crime Decreased Between 2017 and 2018 Both violent crime and property crime fell in 2018 from the previous year, according to the FBI’s annual crime statistics released today.Violent crime declined 3.3 percent between 2017 and 2018. Property crime decreased 6.3 percent during the same time period, according to Crime in the United States, 2018, the annual crime statistics report produced by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.The crime data was voluntarily reported to the FBI by more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies across the country.In 2018, there were about 1.2 million violent crimes, according to the report. Nearly every category of violent crime decreased between 2017 and 2018, with the exception of rape offenses, which increased 2.7 percent.In the property crime category, there were nearly 7.2 million offenses reported in 2018. Burglaries, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle thefts all declined...

U.S. Department Of Defense U.S. Will Continue Defeat-ISIS Campaign, Official Says BY Jim Garamone "The Defeat-ISIS campaign will continue," the official said in a background interview with Pentagon reporters. "The enduring defeat of ISIS remains one of our top security priorities, yesterday in Washington. We have significant assets and personnel as well as coalition capabilities throughout the region that will continue to prosecute that campaign." The Turkish invasion of Northern Syria has complicated matters in the region. President Donald J. Trump ordered the evacuation of American service members from the region. U.S. personnel were in danger of getting between Turkish and Kurdish forces. The situation is becoming even more complex as Russian personnel and forces from the regime of Bashir al-Assad have rushed to fill the vacuum in Northern Syria.It is important to remember that ISIS is not just a Middle East/Central Asia phenomenon. The terror group is attempting to...

Deutsche Welle Is Al-Shabab Looking To Ethiopia? Al-Shabab has mostly struck Kenya when attacking outside of Somalia's borders. But after recent arrests of alleged al-Shabab fighters in Ethiopia, is the Islamist group turning to Ethiopia as a new target? The al-Shabab militant group has sown fear and terror in Eastern Africa for more than a decade. The terrorist group is fighting to oust the Somali government and establish a society based on a rigid interpretation of Islamic Shariah law. Its original leadership was affiliated with al-Qaeda.Although based in Somalia, al-Shabab frequently launches terror attacks in other African countries, most notably in neighboring Kenya. It has struck there more than 20 times in the past five years, killing at least 300 people.Read more: https://www.dw.com/en/is-al-shabab-looking-to-ethiopia/a-50854924...

The Times of Israel Turkey and Kurds agree to Syria truce; Trump: ‘A great day for civilization’ Deal, which will see US remove sanctions from Ankara, appears to give Erdogan all he sought to achieve with offensive By Agencies and TOI staff    The US, Turkey and Kurdish forces agreed Thursday to a five-day cease-fire in the Turks’ attacks on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria to allow the Kurds to withdraw to roughly 20 miles away from the Turkish border. The arrangement appeared to be a significant embrace of Turkey’s position in the weeklong conflict.After more than four hours of negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pence said the purpose of his high-level mission was to end the bloodshed caused by Turkey’s invasion of Syria, and remained silent on whether the agreement amounted to another abandonment of the US’s former Kurdish allies in the fight against the Islamic State. Turkish...

Al Monitor Pentagon To Stay In Islamic State Fight From Iraq by  Jack Detsch The Pentagon expects to fight the Islamic State from Iraq, a senior defense official said today, as American troops are set to leave northern Syria under pressure from a Turkish offensive probing deeper into the war-torn country than the Defense Department anticipated.The campaign to defeat the Islamic State (IS) will continue, the official told reporters at the Pentagon. “We have significant assets, personnel as well as coalition capabilities throughout the region, and we will continue to prosecute that campaign.”The US Central Command is still planning the details of how to remotely wage the campaign, which has leaned heavily on a Kurdish troops that have struck a deal for protection with the Bashar al-Assad regime under intense military duress from Turkey’s three-pronged drive into the country.Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/10/pentagon-to-fight-islamic-state-from-iraq.html#ixzz62ZPkiSPs...

Hearing Examines Video That Wasn’t Disclosed In Terror Case Associated Press By JACQUES BILLEAUD PHOENIX (AP) — Surveillance video taken on the day that two Phoenix men left for suburban Dallas to attack a 2015 Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest shows them in religious clothing, one of the men with a handgun on his hip and both carrying unspecified objects out of their apartment, an FBI agent has testified.The footage showing Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi outside their Phoenix apartment before the attack in Garland was the focus of a court hearing Tuesday. The FBI didn’t turn over the footage until three years after a friend of Simpson and Soofi was convicted for providing the guns used in the attack. Attorneys for Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, who is serving a 30-year prison sentence for providing the guns and other convictions, argue the footage would have been beneficial to their client’s defense....

Deutsche Welle Southeast Asia In The Crosshairs Of 'Islamic State' A recent knife attack on the security minister of Indonesia is a reminder of the danger of Islamist extremism in Southeast Asia. Security measures alone are not enough to combat radicalization, say experts. Last week, Indonesian Security Minister Wiranto was stabbed twice as he was getting out of a car in the city of Pandegland in West Java. He suffered severe injuries and is currently being treated at a military hospital in Jakarta. The minister is said to be in a stable condition.Wiranto's attacker was 31-year-old Syahril Alamsyah, a member of the terrorist organization Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD).JAD is one of the many terrorist groups in Southeast Asia that have allied with the "Islamic State" (IS). Other outfits include Abu Sayaf and the Maute group in the Philippines, along with more than a dozen Islamist terror organizations that are active...

British man gets life for driving into people by Parliamentby Bymike corder, associated press A man who deliberately drove his car into several people outside Britain's Parliament in a bid "to kill as many people as possible" was sentenced Monday to life imprisonment for attempted murder.During a hearing at London's Central Criminal Court, Judge Maura McGowan said Salih Khater must serve a minimum of 15 years for the August 2018 attack that injured three people."Even acting alone, you acted for a terrorist purpose," McGowan said. "All the evidence is consistent with that conclusion."Khater, 30, was convicted in July of driving his car into people outside Parliament before colliding with a security barrier guarded by police.While, Khater was not convicted of a terrorist offense, the judge said his "undoubted intention was to kill as many people as possible and by doing so spread fear and terror."McGowan called it "an attack on...

Germany synagogue shooting: Gunman kills multiple people in Halle attackManhunt underway after shootings in at least three locations during Jewish religious festival of Yom Kippur by Lizzie Dearden, Security Correspondent At least two people have been killed in shootings at a number of locations in Germany, including near a synagogue in the city of Halle.Local police have arrested one person but told people to “remain vigilant” on Wednesday afternoon.Shootings were reported outside the synagogue, where an attacker attempted to break down the doors, at a nearby Turkish kebab shop and in a town about 10 miles away.The alleged gunman in Halle broadcast his attack on the Twitch live-streaming video platform.Follow live updates here Speaking in English, the man called himself “anon” and announced himself as a Holocaust denier. Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-shooting-synagogue-attack-latest-halle-today-shooter-death-toll-grenade-a9148791.html...

San Diego Union Tribune Dutch court convicts asylum-seeker in station terror attack AMSTERDAM - A Dutch court has convicted an Afghan asylum-seeker and sentenced him to nearly 27 years imprisonment for stabbing two American tourists in a terror attack at Amsterdam’s main railway station.The 20-year-old man, identified by Dutch authorities as Jawed S, was shot by police shortly after he stabbed two 38-year-old American men at Amsterdam Central station on Aug. 31 last year.Both victims survived but one was left partially paralyzed by the attack.Amsterdam District Court convicted Jawed S. Monday of attempted murder with a terrorist motive and sentenced him to the maximum possible 26 years and eight months.The court ruled that he traveled to the Netherlands from Germany to avenge what he perceived as insults to Islam and did not know his victims were Americans. Read more: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/nation-world/story/2019-10-14/dutch-court-convicts-asylum-seeker-in-station-terror-attack...

Radio Free Europe By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service KYIV -- Taras Kozak, an associate of Ukrainian pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk has been questioned by the country's Security Service (SBU) over terrorism-related cases.SBU spokeswoman Olena Hitlyanska told RFE/RL that Kozak's questioning on October 3 was related to probes launched into terrorism, financing terrorism, and money laundering.Kozak, who owns the media holding that includes the 112 Ukraine and NewsOne television channels, said in a televised interview that he was not charged with any crime and was questioned as a witness.Last week, the Ukrainian National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting refused to extend 112 Ukraine's broadcasting license, citing the channel's "failure to fix violations of the broadcast concept since 2014." Read more: https://www.rferl.org/amp/pro-russian-ukrainian-politician-s-associate-questioned-in-terrorism-case/30197729.html...

Clarion Project By Ryan Mauro and Martin Mawyer When Muslim Community Patrol & Services rolled their police-cruiser-like cars onto the streets of New York City in November 2018, there was no prior media briefing, no public announcement, no ceremony or grand unveiling.SummaryNot surprisingly, the sight of official-looking cars – made to look like police New York City cars — emblazoned with the words “Muslim Community Patrol” cruising the avenues of Brooklyn and Staten Island—in the United States of America—was quick to generate news coverage, commentary and alarm.Most of the mainstream American media reacted in typical fashion. Ever fearful of offending radicalized Muslim communities or digging too deeply into unsavory truths, they gushed in glowing news reports about the new patrol cars and portrayed them as a “neighborhood watch” for Muslim-dominated areas.Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said the Muslim patrol units would help keep the city safe and vowed that his...

4 stabbed in Manchester mall attack; assailant arrested for terror offenses Authorities say man arrested in connection to knife attack in northwestern England; three victims hospitalized By James Pheby    MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) — Counter-terror police were on Friday probing a mass stabbing at a shopping center in northwest England that left several people injured and needing hospital treatment.The attack happened at the Arndale shopping centre in the heart of Manchester, the city where an Islamist extremist suicide bomber killed 22 after an Ariana Grande concert in 2017.A man in his 40s was detained on suspicion of serious assault, but was later arrested on a charge of “the commission, preparation and instigation of an act of terrorism.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “shocked by the incident,” adding: “My thoughts are with the injured and all those affected.”Read more: https://www.timesofisrael.com/5-stabbed-in-manchester-mall-attack-counter-terror-police-investigating/...

U.S. Moves to Restart Taliban Peace Process Top U.S. envoy meets with Taliban in bid to revive deal; measures could include prisoner swap or reduction in violence By Jessica DonatiWASHINGTON—U.S. officials and representatives of the Afghan Taliban have begun discussing ways to revive a peace process after talks fell apart last month, according to people familiar with the discussions.The top U.S. envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, met international diplomatic counterparts in New York in late September and met with the Taliban in Pakistan earlier this month. The meetings touched on confidence-building measures that could include a possible prisoner swap or a reduction in violence, according to the people familiar with the discussions. President Trump last month declared that talks with the Taliban were dead, and abruptly canceled plans to meet Taliban officials at the Camp David presidential retreat to complete an agreement hashed out during a year of bilateral...

TIME Al-Qaeda Bomb Maker Once Dubbed 'World's Most Dangerous Terrorist' Was Killed 2 Years Ago, White House Says By Madeleine CarlisleIbrahim al-Asiri, a senior al-Qaeda bomb maker and terrorist coordinator, was killed two years ago in a United States operation in Yemen, the White House announced on Thursday.Al-Asiri had been in hiding in Yemen for years and was the repeated target of U.S. drone strikes. The U.S. mistakenly believed they had killed him in a 2011 strike. They later targeted a man they believed was al-Asiri in a May 2012 strike, but he turned out to be another al-Qaeda leader.As TIME wrote in 2013, the Obama administration believed al-Asiri was “the most dangerous terrorist in the world.” He was connected to the failed “underwear bomb” aboard a U.S.-bound flight on Christmas Day 2009, and allegedly built bombs that nearly detonated within two Chicago-bound international cargo planes in 2010. Al-Asiri also...