Pakistan, Baluchistan, shepherdess with animals in mountain landscape/Getty Images
German Ministry Calls Turkey Key Islamist Platform: Report
East African States See Rising Threat From al-Shabab
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Arab World
'Islam for Dummies': ISIS Recruits Have Poor Grasp of Faith
US-Backed Forces Give Hundreds of ISIL Militants Safe Passage Out of Manbij
Iraqi Forces Recapture More Villages South of Mosul, Reaching Qayyara Entrance
Syrian Army Continues Advances in Hama, Idlib Provinces, Kills 40 Terrorists and their Commanders
S. Arabia Defeated in Yemen Heavily
Syrian Democratic Forces Moving towards Raqqa Province
Russian Air Force Pounds Terrorists' Military Vehicles Convoy in Aleppo Countryside
Top Commander Reiterates Iranian Navy's Deployment in Int'l Waters
Iran, Syria, Russia Use Military, Intelligence Capacities to Fight against Terrorism
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Mideast
German Ministry Calls Turkey Key Islamist Platform: Report
OSCE PA Pays High-Level Visit to Turkey amid Concerns over Constitutional Order
Turkey dismisses more than 2,000 police officers over coup bid
Turkey to release 38,000 from jail; frees space for coup plotters
Erdoğan, bar head in warm meeting two years after big spat
Turkish PM cools down demands to reinstate death penalty
Putin reiterates warming relations with ‘friend Turkey’
Tension between Turkey, Greece flares up with row over genocide, Sümela
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Africa
East African States See Rising Threat From al-Shabab
8,000 Boko Haram Members Surrendered Voluntarily – Military
Morocco arrests four over alleged ties with ISIS
88 Boko Haram hostages rescued, 3 terrorists killed
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South Asia
Taliban Execute 6 People on Charges of Supporting the Government
Steep Rise in Afghan Army Casualties, 20 Soldiers Martyred In Past 24 Hours
ISIS shadow governor arrested in North of Afghanistan
Islamist attack has Bangladesh clothing industry on edge
Dhaka cafe attack 'mastermind' Marzan was a 'friend' of Islami Chhatra Shibir: Officials
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Europe
The Evolution Of ISIS Tactics In Europe: Are We Witnessing A Shift?
British Cleric Anjem Choudary Found Guilty Of Lobbying For ISIS
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India
Dr. Jai Siddheshwar Maha Swami Slams ISIS for Defaming Islam
Dalit-Muslim Alliance in Bengal: Lessons from the Aftermath of Partition
Kerala's Peace International School under Scanner in Ashfaq Missing Case
Pak close to being acknowledged an open state promoting terrorism: BJP
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Pakistan
Balochistan Is Pak’s Most Complicated Region: Former Diplomat
Troops enter last bastion of militants in Tirah
Senate body wants misuse of blasphemy law checked
Little-Known Pakistani Tribe That Loves Wine and Whiskey Fears Its Muslim Neighbours
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North America
Pak Must Do Utmost to Prevent Acts of Terror: US
Man in US killed in suspected 'anti-Muslim hate crime'
Nearly half of US-accepted refugees are Muslim
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Southeast Asia
Indonesian Crewman Swims to Freedom from Militants in Philippines
Suspected Terrorists Armed With Grenades At Large, Warn Police
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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'Islam for Dummies': ISIS Recruits Have Poor Grasp of Faith
Aug 16, 2016
PARIS: The Jihadi employment form asked the recruits, on a scale of 1 to 3, to rate their knowledge of Islam. And the Islamic State applicants, herded into a hangar somewhere at the Syria-Turkey border, turned out to be overwhelmingly ignorant.
The extremist group could hardly have hoped for better.
At the height of Islamic State's drive for foot soldiers in 2013 and 2014, typical recruits included the group of Frenchmen who went bar-hopping with their recruiter back home, the recent European convert who now hesitantly describes himself as gay, and two Britons who ordered "The Koran for Dummies" and "Islam for Dummies" from Amazon to prepare for jihad abroad. Their intake process complete, they were grouped in safe houses as a stream of Islamic State imams came in to indoctrinate them, according to court testimony and interviews by the Associated Press.
Islamic State influence making recent Kashmir protests different?
"I realized that I was in the wrong place when they began to ask me questions on these forms like 'when you die, who should we call?'" said the 32-year-old European recruit, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said he thought he was joining a group to fight President Bashar Assad and help Syrians, not the Islamic State.
The European, whose boyish demeanour makes him appear far younger than his age, went to Syria in 2014. He said new recruits were shown IS propaganda videos on Islam, and the visiting imams repeatedly praised martyrdom. Far from home, unschooled in religion, having severed family ties and turned over electronic devices, most were in little position to judge.
An AP analysis of thousands of leaked Islamic State documents reveals most of its recruits from its earliest days came with only the most basic knowledge of Islam. A little more than 3,000 of these documents included the recruits' knowledge of Shariah, the system that interprets into law verses from the Quran and "hadith" — the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.
Islamic State training 'next generation' fighters: Report
According to the documents, which were acquired by the Syrian opposition site Zaman al-Wasl and shared with the AP, 70 percent of recruits were listed as having just "basic" knowledge of Shariah — the lowest possible choice. Around 24 percent were categorized as having an "intermediate" knowledge, with just 5 percent considered advanced students of Islam. Five recruits were listed as having memorized the Quran.
The findings address one of the most troubling questions about IS recruitment in the United States and Europe: Are disaffected people who understand Shariah more prone to radicalization? Or are those with little knowledge of Islam more susceptible to the group's radical ideas that promote violence?
The documents suggest the latter. The group preys on this religious ignorance, allowing extremists to impose a brand of Islam constructed to suit its goal of maximum territorial expansion and carnage as soon as recruits come under its sway.
Bank details give agencies clues on IS-leaning youths
Islamic State's most notorious new supporters appear to have an equally tenuous link with religion. Mohamed Lahouaiyej Bouhlel, who killed 85 people by plowing a truck into a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, France, was described by family and neighbors as indifferent to religion, volatile and prone to drinking sprees, with a bent for salsa dancing and a reported male lover.
Unlike Omar Mateen, the Orlando attacker, Bouhlel did not make a public declaration of allegiance to Islamic State, much less prove he had direct ties to extremists in the war zone. Still, the group was quick to claim both as foot soldiers.
'Koran for Dummies'
The AP analyzed the IS entry form documents of around 4,030 foreign recruits who crossed into Syria when the group was rapidly expanding and seizing territory in Iraq and Syria in 2013 and 2014. At that time, the CIA estimated the extremist group had between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria.
Among the documents were forms for nine of 10 young men from the eastern French city of Strasbourg, all recruited by a man named Mourad Fares. One of them, Karim Mohammad-Aggad, described bar hopping in Germany with Fares. He told investigators that IS recruiters used "smooth talk" to persuade him.
He'd travelled with his younger brother and friends to Syria in late 2013. Two died in Syria, and within a few months, seven returned to France and were arrested. Mohammad-Aggad's brother, 23-year-old Foued, returned to Paris and was one of the three men who stormed the Bataclan in a night of attacks November 13 that killed 130 people.
"My religious beliefs had nothing to do with my departure," Karim Mohammad-Aggad told the court, before being sentenced to nine years in prison. "Islam was used to trap me like a wolf," he said.
IS data shows Karim and his brother Foued were among eight in the Strasbourg group listed as having "basic" knowledge of Sharia.
Expressing a common sentiment shared by many Europeans of North African descent, Mohammed-Aggad told the court he felt like an immigrant in Algeria and "a dirty Arab" in France. After just a few months in Syria, he said he left IS because he was treated by the extremists as an "apostate" — someone who had renounced his religion.
When pressed by the judge on his knowledge of Shariah and how the IS group implements it, Mohammad-Aggad, a former gas station attendant, appeared dumbfounded, saying repeatedly: "I don't have the knowledge to answer the question."
One of his co-defendants, Radouane Taher, was also pressed by the judge on whether beheadings carried out by the IS group conformed to Islamic law.
He couldn't say for sure, answering: "I don't have the credentials."
That's where Amazon comes in.
The trial of long-time friends Mohammed Ahmed and Yusuf Sarwar, from the British city of Birmingham, revealed the 22-year-olds had ordered "The Koran for Dummies" and "Islam for Dummies" books in preparation for their trip to join extremists in Syria. They were arrested on their return to Britain and convicted in 2014 of terrorism offenses.
Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer with extensive experience with Mideast extremist organizations, said some people claim allegiance to IS out of religious belief, but that most who join, including those from the West, are people "reaching for a sense of belonging, a sense of notoriety, a sense of excitement."
"Religion is an afterthought," said Skinner, who is also director of special projects at security consultancy the Soufan Group.
Those who truly crave religious immersion would go to Al-Azhar in Cairo, he added, referring to the thousand-year-old seat of learning for Shariah and Quranic studies.
In its recent English language magazine Dabiq, dedicated largely to bolstering its own Muslim credentials, Islamic State dismissed Al-Azhar as part of an "approach to subdue Muslims through appeasement," with the West.
Mohammed Abdelfadel, an Islamic scholar who heads a German-language unit at Al-Azhar that tracks Islamic State propaganda and statements, said the group spews superficial notions about what is "Halal and haram," or what is permissible and forbidden in Islam. He says the group's propaganda videos lionize IS fighters as masculine, strong martyrs going to heaven for the sake of God — counter to Islamic laws that forbid terrorism, the murder of non-combatants in war, the imposition of Islam on non-Muslims and other criminal activity.
Shariah knowledge is important
The recruits' Shariah knowledge is important because IS not only needs soldiers and suicide bombers, but administrators and Shariah officials to oversee its local courts and judges, who in turn promote IS ideology.
It also matters because those who've claimed advanced knowledge in Shariah on the IS entry documents were less likely to want to become suicide bombers, according to a study by the US military's Combating Terrorism Centre, an academic institution at the United States Military Academy.
"If martyrdom is seen as the highest religious calling, then a reasonable expectation would be that the people with the most knowledge about Islamic law (Shariah) would desire to carry out these operations with greater frequency," said the report.
However, despite the religious justification that IS uses for suicide missions, "those with the most religious knowledge within the organization itself are the least likely to volunteer to be suicide bombers," the study found.
Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan said a close look at the IS group's top commanders shows that many had no religious credentials but, instead, they once held senior positions under Saddam Hussein's secular Baathist government.
Ramadan teaches Islamic Studies at Oxford and has written numerous books on Islam and the integration of Muslims in Europe. He says Muslim scholars must demonstrate that what IS teaches is wrong.
"The people who are doing this are not experiencing martyrdom, they are criminals. They are killing innocent people. Nothing in Islam, nothing ever can justify the killing of innocent people, never, ever."
The gay European recruit said he converted to Islam because he was interested in the culture and it was easy.
"It only required one prayer and no prior understanding of Islam," he said. "There was no hierarchy and it was all about living a good life."
As a convert with almost no knowledge in Islam, he says he was easy prey.
"People like me were tricked into something that they didn't understand. I never meant to end up with IS."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Islam-for-Dummies-ISIS-recruits-have-poor-grasp-of-faith/articleshow/53721724.cms
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German ministry calls Turkey key Islamist platform: Report
August 17, 2016
The German government said in a confidential document obtained by The Associated Press on Aug. 16 that Turkey has become "the central platform of action for Islamist groups" in the Middle East.
The statement, first reported by ARD public television, was contained in a classified section of a reply from the Interior Ministry to questions from an opposition party.
In it, the ministry said "numerous statements of solidarity and supportive actions" for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and "groups in the armed Islamist opposition in Syria" by Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan "underline their ideological affinity with the Muslim Brothers."
The Turkish government said it had no immediate comment on the document.
The Aug. 10 document added that "as a result of Ankara's domestic and foreign policy that has been Islamized step-by-step above all since 2011, Turkey has developed into the central platform of action for Islamist groups in the Middle East region."
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, is shunned as a terrorist group by the European Union and the U.S.
German Interior Ministry issued a statement saying the document is "classified as confidential, therefore we cannot comment publicly on the content."
It added that because of a "clerical error," the Foreign Ministry wasn't involved in the final draft of the answer to The Left Party, which had asked whether "the Muslim Brothers gained influence" after the governing party under Erdoğan, who was previously prime minister, took office.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/german-ministry-calls-turkey-key-islamist-platform-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102925&NewsCatID=351
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East African States See Rising Threat From al-Shabab
August 16, 2016
The militant group al-Shabab, once a threat primarily in Somalia, has grown and expanded its aspirations, operations and aims, and is preparing to wage a long war in East Africa, according to analysts and experts on the region.
East Africa's Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which works for peace, prosperity and regional integration among its eight member states, declared this week that al-Shabab is now a "transnational" organization projecting threats of extremist violence far beyond Somalia.
“Even if al-Shabab were to be defeated tomorrow I think it has inspired a generation of jihadists from across the region, from different countries, who are likely to continue,” says Matt Bryden, a director and senior analyst for the Sahan Foundation, which conducted IGAD's regional study on al-Shabab.
"Al-Shabab is clearly no longer an exclusively Somali problem, and requires a concerted international response," the IGAD report said, noting that al-Shabab is active is six countries of the region - Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Tanzania.
Bryden traces the roots of al-Shabab back to 2009, when the group was a purely Somali organization but was also attracting many foreign adherents, in particular Swahili speakers.
“In East Africa, among Swahili-speaking populations, this goes beyond al-Shabab as a Somali organization sending agents to operate in neighboring countries,” says Bryden. “Al-Shabab’s propaganda is now heavily populated with radio, video and articles in Kiswahili. It’s clearly targeting recruits in East Africa.”
Abdirahman Sahal, director of a Mogadishu-based center on extremism, agrees with Bryden that al-Shabab laid the foundation for this regional struggle a long time ago. But he says what helped most is that the organization controlled territory in Somalia where it was able to attract foreign fighters, prepare them and send them back to their countries of origin.
“They rule land, they collect tax, they have roots. Therefore they are in a position to invite in others [and] open institutions to train them,” he said.
Al-Shabab has staged attacks in Kenya, Uganda, and Djibouti and made at least two attempts to strike inside Ethiopia. And the IGAD report emphasizes that the scope of the threat the group poses throughout East Africa has only increased.
Sahal says al-Shabab’s operational capabilities are a key factor. "They only need one or two people to attack a key place, to blow themselves up,” he noted.
If the threat from al-Shabab is to be countered, Sahal said, regional countries have to attack the group’s bases inside Somalia, where plots are orchestrated.
“Seizing their bases disrupts their administration and sources of revenue. They will be busy as fugitives, hiding, and cannot execute all the plots inside and outside the country,” he said.
“But as long as they have a space where they can drive their cars, live normally and administer their organizational functions, it will be easy for them to attack."
IGAD came to the same conclusion, that it needs to counter al-Shabab both inside and outside Somalia. But whether the countries of the region can exert more pressure on al-Shabab inside Somalia, by cooperating at a level they have not achieved during the past nine years, remains to be seen.
http://www.voanews.com/a/east-african-states-see-rising-threat-from-al-shabab/3468457.html
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Arab World
'Islam for Dummies': ISIS Recruits Have Poor Grasp of Faith
Aug 16, 2016
PARIS: The Jihadi employment form asked the recruits, on a scale of 1 to 3, to rate their knowledge of Islam. And the Islamic State applicants, herded into a hangar somewhere at the Syria-Turkey border, turned out to be overwhelmingly ignorant.
The extremist group could hardly have hoped for better.
Full report at: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Islam-for-Dummies-ISIS-recruits-have-poor-grasp-of-faith/articleshow/53721724.cms
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US-Backed Forces Give Hundreds of ISIL Militants Safe Passage Out of Manbij
August 17, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- Several hundred vehicles containing 100 to 200 ISIL fighters were given safe passage by US-backed forces, out of the Northern Syrian city of Manbij, after surrendering their weapons, according to sources and officials.
US Army spokesman for the US-led coalition fighters told Pentagon reporters the decision to let ISIL convoys leave the city was made by commanders of the Syrian Democratic Force, RT reported.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950527000391
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Iraqi Forces Recapture More Villages South of Mosul, Reaching Qayyara Entrance
August 17, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraqi government forces managed to gain more ground in the troubled Northern province of Nineveh to reach Qayyara entrance after capturing a strategic bridge just outside the city as they continue their campaign to retake the militant-held city of Mosul.
Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced in a statement that elite counter-terrorism forces had gained control over the villages of, al-Jawa’enah, Jebelah and al-Ghaziyah, which lie in the Qayyar region and more than 50 kilometers South of Mosul.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950527000757
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Syrian Army Continues Advances in Hama, Idlib Provinces, Kills 40 Terrorists and their Commanders
August 17, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA) - The Syrian army continued its advances in Hama and Idlib provinces, and killed over three dozen terrorists and their leaders in fierce clashes with the terrorist groups.
At least 40 terrorists, including notorious commanders, were killed in the Syrian army's artillery attacks on their military positions and gathering centers as well as supply routes in Hama and Idlib provinces.
The killed terrorists were from Ahrar al-Sham, Jund al-Aqsa and Ajnad al-Sham terrorist groups.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950527000718
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S. Arabia Defeated in Yemen Heavily
August 17, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- Saudi whistleblower Mujtahid, who is believed to be a member of or have a well-connected source in the royal family, called on the Saudi officials to accept their failure against the Yemeni army and resistance forces.
"Unfortunately, I fear that the Houthis and Ali Salih (former Yemeni president) have won the political, military and intelligence battle and we, under the command of Mohammad bin Salman, the Saudi defense minister, have lost the military, political and intelligence war," Mujtahid wrote on his twitter page on Wednesday.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950527000840
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Syrian Democratic Forces Moving towards Raqqa Province
August 17, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) started advancing towards Raqqa province after purging terrorists from the city of Manbij in Aleppo province, informed sources disclosed.
"Manbij is a strategic route to reach the city of Raqqa; hundreds of the ISIL terrorists have begun withdrawing towards the surrounding villages of Raqqa city,: the Arabic-language media quoted unnamed Kurdish sources as saying.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950527000817
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Russian Air Force Pounds Terrorists' Military Vehicles Convoy in Aleppo Countryside
August 17, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Russian fighter jets hit a military convoy of the terrorist groups in the countryside of the city of Aleppo on Wednesday, inflicting heavy losses and casualties on the terrorists.
The Jeish al-Fatah terrorists' military convoy came under Russian air raids on a road linking military academy buildings to al-Ramousiyeh region.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950527000611
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Top Commander Reiterates Iranian Navy's Deployment in Int'l Waters
August 17, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari underscored presence of the country's naval forces in free waters to defend the national interests.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran's Navy safeguards the country's interests in the high seas and is ready to confront the enemies at any point," Admiral Sayyari said, addressing the Iranian cadets in the Northern city of Rasht on Wednesday.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950527000569
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Iran, Syria, Russia Use Military, Intelligence Capacities to Fight against Terrorism
August 17, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- Spokesman of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Keivan Khosravi underlined anti-terrorism cooperation among Tehran, Damascus and Moscow, adding that they will use all their capacities to this end.
"Cooperation among Iran, Russia, Syria and the resistance front against the Takfiri terrorist stream has been underway for some time and continues growingly," Khosravi said on Tuesday.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950527000475
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Mideast
German ministry calls Turkey key Islamist platform: Report
August 17, 2016
The German government said in a confidential document obtained by The Associated Press on Aug. 16 that Turkey has become "the central platform of action for Islamist groups" in the Middle East.
The statement, first reported by ARD public television, was contained in a classified section of a reply from the Interior Ministry to questions from an opposition party.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/german-ministry-calls-turkey-key-islamist-platform-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102925&NewsCatID=351
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OSCE PA pays high-level visit to Turkey amid concerns over constitutional order
August 16, 2016
A high-level delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of the Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA) arrived in Turkey on Aug. 16 for a two-day visit aimed at discussing the 15 July coup attempt and its aftermath.
The first stop in Ankara for the delegation, led by OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen, was the Foreign Ministry headquarters on the first day of their visit, meeting Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/osce-pa-pays-high-level-visit-to-turkey-amid-concerns-over-constitutional-order.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102911&NewsCatID=510
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Turkey dismisses more than 2,000 police officers over coup bid
August 17, 2016
Turkey issued two decrees under emergency rule on Aug. 17, dismissing more than 2,000 police officers and hundreds of members of the military and the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) over last month’s attempted military coup.
Those dismissed were described as having links to U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of orchestrating the failed coup attempt on July 15, although he denies involvement.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-dismisses-more-than-2000-police-officers-over-coup-bid.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102922&NewsCatID=341
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Turkey to release 38,000 from jail; frees space for coup plotters
August 17, 2016
Turkey issued a decree on Aug. 17 paving the way for the conditional release of 38,000 prisoners, the justice minister said - an apparent move to reduce its prison population to make space for thousands of people who have been arrested as part of an investigation into last month's failed coup attempt.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-to-release-38000-from-jail-frees-space-for-coup-plotters.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102923&NewsCatID=341
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Erdoğan, bar head in warm meeting two years after big spat
August 17, 2016
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted a delegation from the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB), including bar head Metin Feyzioğlu, in a surprise event given that the duo traded barbs with each following a 2014 argument.
Both Erdoğan and Feyzioğlu delivered a warm talk, praising each other, with the ice between them breaking in harmony with a rising spirit of unity in the country in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-bar-head-in-warm-meeting-two-years-after-big-spat.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102909&NewsCatID=338
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Turkish PM cools down demands to reinstate death penalty
August 16, 2016
There are “deaths worse than death” for the plotters of the July 15 coup attempt compared to death penalty, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said, commenting on a controversial debate on reinstating capital punishment.
“The death penalty is a one-time death, but there are deaths worse than death for the coup plotters. That is an objective and fair judgement,” Yıldırım said in a parliamentary group meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara on Aug. 16, adding that they would not act with the feeling of revenge.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pm-cools-down-demands-to-reinstate-death-penalty.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102896&NewsCatID=338
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Putin reiterates warming relations with ‘friend Turkey’
August 16, 2016
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is making “sincere efforts” to restore all ties with Turkey, which he described as a “friend,” following months of diplomatic tension.
“We are sincerely making an effort for the re-establishing of our relations in all dimensions with Turkey, which is our friend and with which we have cooperated for many years,” Putin said during a meeting with Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Sochi on Aug. 16.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/putin-reiterates-warming-relations-with-friend-turkey--.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102908&NewsCatID=353
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Tension between Turkey, Greece flares up with row over genocide, Sümela
August 16, 2016
Amid ongoing strains related to the recent attempted military coup in Turkey, tension between the two Aegean neighbors has flared up upon the Greek president’s call for a “sincere apology” from Ankara for what Athens describes as the “Pontic genocide.”
Ankara has also been angered by claims from the Greek side that the historic Orthodox Sümela Monastery in Turkey’s Black Sea region has been unjustifiably closed.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/tension-between-turkey-greece-flares-up-with-row-over-genocide-sumela.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102902&NewsCatID=510
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Africa
East African States See Rising Threat From al-Shabab
August 16, 2016
The militant group al-Shabab, once a threat primarily in Somalia, has grown and expanded its aspirations, operations and aims, and is preparing to wage a long war in East Africa, according to analysts and experts on the region.
East Africa's Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which works for peace, prosperity and regional integration among its eight member states, declared this week that al-Shabab is now a "transnational" organization projecting threats of extremist violence far beyond Somalia.
Full report at: voanews.com/a/east-african-states-see-rising-threat-from-al-shabab/3468457.html
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8,000 Boko Haram Members Surrendered Voluntarily – Military
AUGUST 17, 2016
The military on Tuesday in Abuja said about 8,000 Boko Haram members voluntarily surrendered to its “Operation Safe Corridor” in the Northeast.
Director of Defence Information Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar made this disclosure at a lecture organised by the Federal Capital Territory Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Full report at: informationng.com/2016/08/8000-boko-haram-members-surrendered-voluntarily-military.html
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Morocco arrests four over alleged ties with ISIS
August 16, 2016
Rabat - Morocco on Tuesday arrested four men allegedly linked to the Islamic State jihadist group and planning attacks in the kingdom's economic capital Casablanca, the interior ministry said.
It said authorities had dismantled "a terrorist cell of four extremists who were active between Casablanca and Mograne", a rural area about 50km north of political capital Rabat.
Initial findings in the investigation pointed to the men having "pledged allegiance" to ISIS and preparing to attack "vital sites in Casablanca", it said.
Full report at: news24.com/Africa/News/morocco-arrests-four-over-alleged-ties-with-isis-20160817-2
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88 Boko Haram hostages rescued, 3 terrorists killed
AUGUST 17, 2016
Abuja—Three members of the Boko Haram group have been killed by soldiers in separate operations, while 88 captives held hostage by the group were rescued.
While one of the terrorists was killed in the Mopol and Boccos areas, the other two were killed in the Mongonu area of Borno State.
Full report at: vanguardngr.com/2016/08/88-boko-haram-hostages-rescued-3-terrorists-killed/
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South Asia
Taliban execute 6 people on charges of supporting the government
Tue Aug 16 2016
Afghan-Taliban-rejects-peace-talksThe Taliban militants have executed at least six people on charges of supporting the Afghan government in western Farah province of Afghanistan.
Local security officials said Tuesday the men were executed in Bakwa district on Monday, days after they were kidnapped by the militants.
Full report at: khaama.com/taliban-execute-6-people-on-charges-of-supporting-the-government-01706
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Steep rise in Afghan army casualties, 20 soldiers martyred in past 24 hours
Wed Aug 17 2016
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) has been reporting a steepr rise in Afghan National Army (ANA) forces casualties amid deteriorating security situation across the country.
According to a statement by MoD, at least 20 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces lost their lives while conducting counter-terrorism operations in the past 24 hours.
Full report at: khaama.com/steep-rise-in-afghan-army-casualties-20-soldiers-martyred-in-past-24-hours-01712
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ISIS shadow governor arrested in North of Afghanistan
Wed Aug 17 2016
The shadow governor of the loyalists of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group has been arrested in northern Jawzjan province of Afghanistan.
According to the local government officials, Baz Mohammad, the ISIS shadow governor of the terror group designated for Jawzjan province, was arrested as he was attempting to expand the activities of the terror group in northern provinces.
Full report at: khaama.com/isis-shadow-governor-arrested-in-north-of-afghanistan-01710
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Islamist attack has Bangladesh clothing industry on edge
17 August 2016
She walked to work in Dhaka even during Bangladesh's never-ending general strikes, political violence and labour unrest. But now she fears her livelihood is in danger because of the recent jihadist violence.
"What will happen to us if the buyers are not going to come to Bangladesh?" says Shirin, a mother-of-two who works as a seamstress at a factory just outside Dhaka that stitches clothes for many Western retail brands.
Full report at: bbc.com/news/business-36904696
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Dhaka cafe attack 'mastermind' Marzan was a 'friend' of Islami Chhatra Shibir: Officials
17 August 2016
They also say the Arabic department student had gone missing after sitting the sixth test of second-year final in February last year. He did not take readmission.
Proctor Ali Asgar Chowdhury says they had found out about Marzan’s involvement with the Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing after inspecting some laptops confiscated during a police raid on a dormitory in November last year and some documents belonging to Shibir.
Full report at: bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2016/08/17/dhaka-cafe-attack-mastermind-marzan-was-a-friend-of-islami-chhatra-shibir-officials
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Europe
The Evolution Of ISIS Tactics In Europe: Are We Witnessing A Shift?
17 August 2016
France and Germany were stricken by a succession of terrorist attacks last month, at an unprecedented rate since the start of operations by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Europe.
On July 14, France’s National Day, a truck driver claimed the lives of 85 innocent men, women and children. The following week, a Syrian refugee and an Afghan asylum-seeker staged two separate terrorist attacks in Germany. The month ended with the horrific assassination of a priest while he celebrated mass in a small town in French Normandy.
Full report at: english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2016/08/17/The-evolution-of-ISIS-tactics-in-Europe-Are-we-witnessing-a-major-shift-.html
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British Cleric Anjem Choudary Found Guilty Of Lobbying For ISIS
AUGUST 17, 2016
LONDON: British cleric Anjem Choudary, who has long been accused of radicalising young Muslims, was facing jail on Tuesday after being convicted of encouraging support for the militant Islamic State group.
The 49-year-old Choudary and co-defendant Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, 33, used a series of talks posted on YouTube to invite backing for the group, and pledged their allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Full report at: dawn.com/news/1278011/uk-preacher-found-guilty-of-lobbying-for-is
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India
Dr. Jai Siddheshwar Maha Swami Slams ISIS for Defaming Islam
August 17, 2016
AKKALKOT (MAHARASHTRA): Addressing a huge gathering here Dr.Jai Siddheshwar Mahaswami slammed ISIS and said that “these days a group of anti social elements indulge in anti social activities and commit heinous crimes in the name of Islam. It’s time to come under one roof and condemn and destroy this anti social mentality as Islam is a religion of peace and humanity”.
Full report at: siasat.com/news/dr-jai-siddheshwar-maha-swami-slams-isis-defaming-islam-1002616/
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Dalit-Muslim Alliance In Bengal : Lessons From The Aftermath Of Partition
August 17, 2016
The following extracts from a highly explanatory paper “In Search of Space The Scheduled Caste Movement in West Bengal after Partition” explain the fate of Dalit-Muslim in Bengal alliance during the aftermath of the ‘Partition.’
The social movements that began to emphasise Dalit identities in Bengal started in the1870s. These movements had two very clearly identifiable geographical locations with two communities at the forefront.
Full report at: swarajyamag.com/politics/dalit-muslim-alliance-in-bengal-lessons-from-the-aftermath-of-partition
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Kerala's Peace International School under scanner in Ashfaq missing case
August 16, 2016
After Zakir Naik's Islamic International School, now Peace International School has come under the scanner of Intelligence agencies. In a brand new revelation in ISIS member Ashfaq's case, Intelligence agencies are zeroing on the role of Peace International School.
Abdul Rashid, one of the missing youths, is believed to have played a central role in the disappearance of Ashfaq. Rashid was working as the Public Relations Officer at Peace International School till his disappearance. Full report at: indiatoday.intoday.in/story/peace-international-school-isis-abdul-rashid-ashfaq/1/742006.html
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Pak close to being acknowledged an open state promoting terrorism: BJP
August 17, 2016
New Delhi: With Pakistan apparently ‘relaxing’ the media regulatory authority’s ban on Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed thereby allowing him to appear on private TV channels to advocate the cause of Kashmiris, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday said Islamabad is very close to being acknowledged as an open state that promotes terrorism and allows terrorists to roam freely.
Speaking to ANI, BJP leader Nalin Kohli said this is yet another example of Pakistan ‘double standards’ on terrorism.
Full report at: siasat.com/news/pak-close-acknowledged-open-state-promoting-terrorism-bjp-1002645/
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Pakistan
Balochistan is Pak’s most complicated region: Former diplomat
August 17, 2016
Washington: Balochistan is Pakistan’s most complicated region and significant parts of the restive provinceare not necessarily controlled by the government, according to a former Pakistani diplomat.
“Balochistan is Pakistan’s most complicated region, and unfortunately people try to simplify the problems there. It is not all about the mistakes of the Pakistani military, or the corruption of civilians in power, or the nationalists, or the presence of the Taliban. It is all those things,” the former Pakistan Ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, said in an interview to The Atlantic magazine.
Full report at: siasat.com/news/balochistan-paks-complicated-region-former-diplomat-1002501/
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Troops enter last bastion of militants in Tirah
August 17, 2016
LANDI KOTAL: Backed by air strikes and heavy artillery shelling at suspected militant hideouts, army troops have finally penetrated into the deep-forested Rajgal valley in Tirah which was considered to be the last bastion of outlawed militant groups.
Sources in the region told Dawn on Tuesday that foot soldiers made it to militants-infested Rajgal under the cover of heavy artillery shelling fired from the Meshtara camp in the Bazaar Zakhakhel area.
Full report at: dawn.com/news/1278089/troops-enter-last-bastion-of-militants-in-tirah
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Senate body wants misuse of blasphemy law checked
August 17, 2016
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday suggested that measures need to be adopted to prevent the misuse of the blasphemy law.
At the start of the meeting, the committee chairperson, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Senator Nasreen Jaleel, clarified that the meeting did not intend to seek amendments to the law.
“The intention is to ensure fair implementation of the law,” Ms Jaleel said, adding more Muslims than non-Muslims had fallen victim to the law and innocent people had suffered due to its misuse.
Full report at: dawn.com/news/1278066/senate-body-wants-misuse-of-blasphemy-law-checked
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Little-Known Pakistani Tribe That Loves Wine And Whiskey Fears Its Muslim Neighbors
August 17, 2016
KALASH VALLEY, PAKISTAN: Hidden up in the mountains near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, the Kalash tribe loves homemade wine and whiskey, dances for days at colorful festivals, and practices a religion that holds that God has spirits and messengers who speak through nature.
Long before the campaign of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, the villagers fretted over whether they needed walls or do-not-enter lists to protect them from their more conservative Muslim neighbors - ultimately deciding that the towering heights of the Hindu Kush would protect them.
Full report at: ndtv.com/world-news/little-known-pakistani-tribe-that-loves-wine-and-whiskey-fears-its-muslim-neighbors-1445014
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North America
Pak must do utmost to prevent acts of terror: US
August 17, 2016
Washington: Pakistan must do the utmost to prevent terrorists from carrying out acts of terror not just in the country but elsewhere in the region, the US has said and underlined the need of greater Indo-Pak dialogue and counterterrorism cooperation to combat the menace.
“We would encourage greater dialogue and counterterrorism cooperation between both Pakistan and India. We’ve said that many times,” State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters yesterday.
Full report at: siasat.com/news/pak-must-utmost-prevent-acts-terror-us-1002677/
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Man in US killed in suspected 'anti-Muslim hate crime'
Aug 16, 2016
Arab communities in the United States are in shock after a Lebanese-American man was shot and killed by a neighbour who had allegedly used violence and racial slurs against the family for years.
Khalid Jabara, 37, was shot and killed on his front porch in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Friday.
The family's neighbour, 61-year-old Stanley Vernon Majors, was arrested and he is expected to be charged with first-degree murder later this week, Tulsa police said in a press release.
Full report at: aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/man-killed-suspected-anti-muslim-hate-crime-160816191517636.html
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Nearly half of US-accepted refugees are Muslim
August 16, 2016
The U.S. has accepted more Muslim refugees than any other religious group during the current fiscal year, according to data compiled by the Pew Research Center.
Nearly half of the more than 63,000 refugees who have been granted residency this year are Muslim – marking the highest number since fiscal year 2002 when self-reported data on religious affiliation was first made public.
Full report at: worldbulletin.net/world/176270/sudan-floods-swallow-entire-villages
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Southeast Asia
Indonesian crewman swims to freedom from militants in Philippines
17 Aug 2016
MANILA: An Indonesian tugboat crewman escaped from his Islamist militant captors in the Philippines on Thursday by swimming out to sea after the militants threatened to cut his head off, a Philippine army spokesman said.
Members of the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf group captured the Indonesian, Mohammad Safyan, 28, and six other Indonesian seamen from their boat as it was passing through waters off southern Philippine islands on June 23.
Full report at: channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/indonesian-crewman-swims/3051096.html--
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Suspected terrorists armed with grenades at large, warn police
August 17, 2016
Malaysian police have warned that suspected terrorists are believed to be armed with grenades and are possibly plotting more attacks across the country.
Ayob Khan, Malaysia's head of police counter-terrorism, said that the country's first Isis attack in the country at the Movida nightclub in the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur in June 2016, has changed the police's view of the level of threat posed by Islamic State (Isis).
"Before this, our assessment was that they don't have the expertise to assemble IED [improvised explosive devices] because they were never trained," Ayob told Channel NewsAsia ." Full report at: ibtimes.co.uk/malaysia-suspected-terrorists-armed-grenades-large-warn-police-1576429
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Moderate Islamist here
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