Wednesday 23 September 2015

Egypt began this week flooding smuggling tunnels along their border with the Gaza Strip with water from the Mediterranean Sea -- a move being condemned by Hamas and other Palestinian factions as a "disturbing nightmare."

The Egyptian army's move is another sign of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's determination to destroy the tunnels that were used to smuggle weapons, people and merchandise from Sinai to the Gaza Strip and the other way around.

This act is also a sign of Sisi's resolve to pursue his military campaign against Islamist terror groups that are waging war against the Egyptian authorities in Sinai. The Egyptians are convinced that Hamas and other Palestinian groups have been providing aid to the terror groups in Sinai.

Since the beginning of the year, dozens of Egyptian soldiers and police officers have been killed in a spate of terror attacks launched by Islamist groups in Sinai.

Earlier this week, Egypt's Interior Ministry announced that terrorists shot dead an Egyptian general in Sinai. In another similar shooting a few days earlier, a terror group killed General Khaled Kamel Osman.

The decision to pump water into the smuggling tunnels is seen as a severe blow not only to the terror groups in Sinai, but also to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian factions inside the Gaza Strip.

Judging from the reaction of the Palestinian groups, it is clear that they are in a state of hysteria as they see their tunnels collapsing one after the other.

In a statement published in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian groups, including Hamas, denounced the flooding of the tunnels as a "disturbing nightmare" for the Palestinians. The factions appealed to the Egyptian authorities to "stop this despicable crime against the Palestinian people and their environment."

"The Palestinian people are surprised by the Egyptian move, which will tighten the blockade on the Gaza Strip, destroy vast areas of agricultural land and harm those living near the border (with Egypt)," the statement said.

Initially, Hamas leaders did not take the reports about flooding the tunnels seriously. Some Hamas leaders, in fact, first thought that these were rumors designed to scare them and other Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip.

But when Hamas leaders woke up on September 13 to discover that the Egyptians had begun pumping water into the smuggling tunnels, they could not believe what they were seeing.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri announced that his movement asked the Egyptians to stop flooding the tunnels with seawater. "We hope that the Egyptians will comply with our demand," Abu Zuhri said. "This measure is completely unacceptable and poses a threat to many families living alongside the border."

Sources in the Gaza Strip noted this week that the Egyptian move has thus far proven to be effective and successful. They said that since being flooded with water, several tunnels have collapsed.

It is worth noting that despite its outrage, Hamas has stopped short of issuing threats against Egypt in response to the flooding of the tunnels.

Hamas's response would have been different had it been Israel that was flooding the tunnels with water. But Hamas knows very well that it would not be a good idea to mess with the Egyptian authorities and President Sisi.

During the past two years, the Egyptians have destroyed hundreds of smuggling tunnels along their border with the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, Hamas did not dare launch one terror attack against Egypt.

Hamas is now pretending that it is concerned about the damage to the environment that is caused by the flooding of the smuggling tunnels. But the truth is that the environment of the Gaza Strip is the last thing that Hamas cares about.

Hamas did not think about damage to the environment or to agricultural fields when its men fired thousands of rockets at Israel in the past few years. In fact, Hamas used these fields, as well as populated areas, as launching pads for attacking Israel.

Hamas is interested only in one thing: preserving its rule in the Gaza Strip. The tunnels that are now being destroyed by the Egyptians were used by Hamas to smuggle all types of weapons into the Gaza Strip. Hamas warlords are also believed to have earned millions of dollars from the smuggling industry during the past few years.

Sisi's war against the smuggling tunnels will undoubtedly weaken Hamas and other radical groups in the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian president should be commended, rather than criticized, for his courageous actions against Islamist terrorists, both in the Gaza Strip and in Sinai.

Sisi's actions will benefit not only Egyptians, but also many Palestinians who are opposed to Hamas and radical Islamist groups. Israel also stands to benefit from Sisi's war against Hamas. The destruction of the tunnels means fewer weapons used by Hamas to attack Israel.

However, Israel still has good reason to be worried about Hamas's plans and intentions.

While Sisi is busy flooding the tunnels on the border with Egypt, Hamas continues to dig new ones on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

It is no secret that Hamas has also managed to rebuild many of the terror tunnels that were used to infiltrate gunmen into Israel during last year's military confrontation between the two sides. Hamas is planning to use these tunnels in the future, to dispatch its men to kill as many Israelis as possible.

The Israelis have thus far been monitoring the situation very closely and have refrained from attacking the tunnels. That is because Israel is keen on maintaining the unofficial truce with Hamas that was reached in the aftermath of last year's war, known as Operation Protective Edge.

There is not much that Israel can do at this stage other than hope that Sisi will continue with his measures to undermine Hamas. Any attempt by Israel to flood a Hamas tunnel will most likely spark an international outcry and bring condemnations from the United Nations. In addition, such a move on the part of Israel is likely to trigger a violent response from Hamas -- one that could lead to another war.

When the Egyptians destroy a Hamas tunnel, that is called "war on terrorism." But when Israel destroys a tunnel, that is condemned as an "act of aggression." This moral slithering is why it is important for the international community to stand behind Sisi's relentless war on radical Islam. Without such backing, the Islamists will continue to pose a major threat not only to Israel, but to many Arabs and Muslims who oppose Hamas, Islamic State and Islamic Jihad.
by 
Original link : http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6559/egypt-war-on-terrorism

Sunday 16 August 2015

Hamza Bin Laden
Hamza bin Laden, son of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has urged followers of the group to wage ‘jihad’ on US and its allies, according to a BBC report.

In an audio message released by al Qaeda website, which it claimed to be from Osama’s son, Hamza called upon followers in Kabul, Baghdad and Gaza to wage war on Washington, London, Paris and Tel Aviv.

This is the first time the militant group has presented Hamza as an official member of al Qaeda.

Hamza’s whereabouts are not known.

During the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the Al-Jazeera network broadcast footage that appeared to show him among Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

Since Osama Bin Laden was killed in a raid on his compound in Abbotabad in 2011, Ayman al-Zawahiri has been leading the group.

According to documents confiscated from bin Ladens’ Abbottabad hideout by US forces, and released earlier this year, the al Qaeda supremo wanted to nurture Hamza as his successor in the group.

Hamza was due to travel to Abbottabad to join his father when US forces raided the hideout.

Friday 7 August 2015


ISIS Executing woman 

According to Kurdistan Democratic Party, Islamic State (ISIS) militants executed 19 women in Mosul, Iraq for refusing to have sex with the group’s fighters.

The penalty decision came on the background of the refusal to participate in the practice of sexual jihad.

Over a year ago, when the IS took over the city of Mosul, the group demanded that people handover their unmarried daughters for fighters.

“We call upon the people of this county to bring their unmarried girls so they can fulfill their duty in sex jihad for their warrior brothers in the city and anyone who will not appear will feel the full force of the Sharia upon him.”

‘Sexual jihad’, a term coined by the group refers to the practice of women offering themselves sexually to fighters in order to lift their morale to continue the fight for the establishment of the Islamic state.

The Kurdish Democratic Party spokesperson also revealed that the ranks of IS have undergone divisions in Mosul due to conflicts over the issue of money distribution and women.

Thursday 6 August 2015

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bomb blast at KSA


Abha : A mosque in Saudi Arabia used by Interior Ministry special forces in the southwestern city of Abha came under attack of ISIS bomb attack, killing 17 people, according to the official Saudi Al-Ekhbariya news channel
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A Saudi Interior Ministry official told the Associated Press that the bomb targeted police trainees as they were in the middle of prayer.

State media reported that the mosque belongs to an Interior Ministry emergency services' post in Abha.

Ekhbariya said at least 10 of the dead were members of the security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But blame is likely to fall on ISIS (Daesh) , whose local affiliate has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in recent months.

A suicide bomber that struck a mosque in the eastern village of Al Qudeeh in May killed 22 people. That was the deadliest assault in the Kingdom in more than a decade, and was followed a week later by another suicide bombing attack outside another mosque that left four dead.


Monday 3 August 2015

Russian Forces - Photo by Reuters
Russian authorities announced that its security forces had killed eight terrorists having affiliation with Islamic State (ISIS), after a firefight in the North Caucasus region, west of Chechnya, reported by AFP

Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) made the announcement on Sunday evening after Russian forces ambushed the militants early on Sunday morning in the southern republic of Ingushetia.

"According to information available to the security services, the militants killed in the operation had recently pledged allegiance and became members of the Islamic State international terrorist organization. All of them were complicit in a number of crimes of a terrorist nature, including the killings of law enforcement officers and the extortion of money from entrepreneurs," the statement from the NAC said.

One of the men killed during the fight, Adam Tagilov, was said to be the leader of the group. Tagilov was suspected of being behind the December 4 terror attacks in the city of Grozny in Chechnya, according to the NAC.

ISIS declared its intention to expand its 'Caliphate' into the North Caucasus region of Russia in June, following a pledge of allegiance by the Caucasus Emirate, a large militant group based primarily in south-western Russia which was formally affiliated with al-Qaeda.


Sunday 2 August 2015

Photo by Dawn News

An important commander of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, Omar Abdul Latif alias Luqman, was killed and her wife, women wing Head Tayyaba arrested in a raid by security forces in the Balochistan Province near the Pakistan-Afghan border.

According to details, Security forces have killed a senior Al-Qaeda commander and detained his wife in an overnight raid on his hideout in Balochistan province, provincial home minister said.

The security forces also took the couple's two young daughters into custody during the raid in the Chaghi district.

The minister said Umar Lateef, his wife Tayyaba, one brother and two daughters both aged under five had lived in Chaghi for the last 8-10 months after moving from the Afghan border province of Nimruz.

Punjab province had offered a reward of $20,000 for Lateef and $5,000 for his wife, who was head of Al-Qaeda's women's wing in south Punjab and Balochistan.

The home minister said that Omar Lateef was striving to establish the Al-Qaeda Subcontinent Centre in the area.


Photo by AP

PALESTINE : Baby was burnt by Israeli settler attackers, Israeli Prime Minister term it as terrorist act,will use all legal means possible to catch the killers of toddler Ali Dawabsha and bring them to justice.

The aim of the settler attack on Palestinians in the village of Duma was to embarrass the pro-settlement Israeli government even though it had simultaneously approved the building, "immediately", of 804 new Jewish settlements in Beit Eli and in Jerusalem.

The settlers' heinous attack, which probably came from the nearby Maleh Efraim settlement, is said to be part of a continuous wave of attacks on Palestinians by settlers, reported by Al Jazeera. 

Reacting on this attack, Israeli PM Netanyahu said, What differentiates Israel from its neighbors is that “we denounce and condemn these murderers and will chase them [until we find them], while [our neighbors] name streets after those who kill children.”

Since 2004, settlers had committed 11,000 attacks against Palestinians, and that all those cases were registered by Israel as acts committed by unknowns after superficial investigations for a few hours, and then the cases were closed.

Let see what happen to this terror attack.