Tag: Iraq

3 More Malaysians Arrested For Link to ISIS

KUALA LUMPUR — A man and two women were picked up by police last night (Nov 21) for allegedly being involved in terrorism, said Malaysia’s national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar.

The inspector-general of police said the arrests were made in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor by the force’s counter-terrorism division.

Mr Khalid, in a statement, said the three suspects aged between 28 and 34 were believed to be linked with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. (Isis).

“The first suspect, a woman, is the wife of an earlier suspected terrorist charged in court on November 11,” Mr Khalid said.

The second suspect was an event manager in Kuala Lumpur, while the male suspect was an executive assistant.

“All three suspects are believed to have been involved witth ISIS via Facebook,” he said.

Mr Khalid said the three were also found to have been involved in gathering funds, which was used to send Malaysians to join Isis in Syria.

“All three have been arrested to facilitate investigations under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012,” Mr Khalid said.

Yesterday, a third Malaysian was charged at the Sepang Sessions Court with supporting the ISIS terrorist group.

Mohamad Fauzee Ahmad allegedly entered Syria between June 29 and Sep 18 to lend support to terror activities involving firearms and explosives.

The 43-year-old was reportedly seen as advancing a religious struggle in Syria.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 30 years in jail, or face a fine and forfeiture of assets used in the commission of the offences under Section 130J(1)(b) of the Penal Code.

Judge Nor Haffizah Mohd Salim reportedly set January 15 for mention. DPP Ishak Mohd Yusoff prosecuted the case.

Fauzee is the third person to be arrested upon returning from Syria, where ISIS is operating.

The other two arrested and charged were Muhammad Fauzi Misrak, 32, and Mohammad Na’Im Abd Rashid, 26.

They were reportedly charged on Nov 11. Fauzi’s case is due for mention on Dec 19 while Na’Im’s case is on Dec 15.

The duo had allegedly fought for ISIS between Dec 13 last year and July 14.

They were arrested with 12 others between Oct 15 and Oct 17.

On Tuesday, The Malaysian Insider reported that at least five ISIS militants had returned to Malaysia, but lack of proof was holding back police from arresting them.

According to a senior intelligence source, under Sosma, there were a number of boxes which police needed to tick.

“Getting statements from sources in the Middle East to confirm that a Malaysian citizen was there fighting alongside ISIS forces is insufficient,” the official said.

“Police must build a strong case before a Malaysian suspect who fought alongside Isis forces in the Middle East can be charged in court here.”

On Monday, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told Parliament that Malaysian ISIS fighters were returning to spread militant ideology in the country.

He said police checks showed that those who returned were not driven by disillusionment or the desire to surrender to the Malaysian authorities, but to influence and recruit others.

“The police are monitoring and they know, those who opted to return are doing so because they want to influence other Malaysians to join their cause, regardless if they are Muslims or not.”

39 Malaysians have been officially identified as being involved with Isis in Syria, whose aim is to set up an Islamic caliphate in the region.

The New Straits Times, however, reported that there were 45 Malaysians in Syria and 15 in Iraq.

It also reported that police may have difficulty in tracing exactly how many have returned as their departure from Malaysia to Syria was not properly tracked.

Between January and June this year, police arrested 23 people in various parts of Malaysia over alleged links to the terror group.

The Malaysians fighting alongside Isis forces in the Middle East were influenced to take up the struggle via social media, intelligence sources previously said.

Some, like former Kedah PAS Youth information chief Lotfi Ariffin who was killed in Syria, had not only posted about his activities with the militants on Facebook, but had issued call-to-action messages, too.

To date, five Malaysians have been killed in action in Syria. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

Source: www.todayonline.com

November 23, 2014
Dutch Mother Rescues Daughter From Islamic State

A mother defied official warnings to travel to the Syrian city of Raqqa to rescue her daughter from the clutches of Islamic State terrorists.

The woman, from Maastricht, named only as Monique was told that it was too dangerous to attempt the journey to free her daughter Aicha, 19.

“Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. This is what I think is right,” she told family and friends

After an appeal for help from her daughter, a Dutch convert to Islam, for help last month, the mother was told by police not to try and rescue her because it was too dangerous.

She was also warned that the “provision of assistance” to jihadists, such as her daughter, could be a criminal offence. She travelled from Turkey to Raqqa, the self styled capital of Islamic State, wearing a burka after arranging via Facebook a rescue rendezvous with he daughter.

The pair then escaped across the Syrian border back to Turkey where Aicha was arrested because she does not have a passport.

After converting to Islam aged 18, Aicha married Omar Yilmaz, a notorious Dutch jihadi, who is a former soldier, after seeing him interviewed on television.

“She wanted to go home, but could not leave Raqqa without help,” said the mother.

Dutch foreign ministry officials have intervened to bring the mother and daughter back from Turkey before the end of the week.

“It is quite remarkable that the mother managed to find and get her daughter,” Françoise Landerloo, the family’s lawyer told the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

November 21, 2014
PM Lee: More Talking At “Deradicalisation Symposium” Can Help Tackle ISIS

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the East Asia Summit on Thursday that more should be done to prevent religious extremism in the region especially given the threat posed by ISIS.

PM Lee said that there is no purely military solution to such “non-traditional security threats” but it is still necessary to fight and weaken the group.

He suggested that the ideological roots of the group should be tackled instead and in rlation to this, he said that de-radicalisation Symposium may be helpful.

He said that such a symposium could benefit the region as experts could share best practices.

For example, in Singapore, PM Lee boasted that we have dealt with detainees who have planned terror attacks in Singapore before and Singapore strongly condemns ISIS’ actions.

PM Lee also praised the US’s firm leadership on the issue and said that Singapore is ready to support where it can.

Mr Lee also said at the summit that the global economy also has to remain open and keep protectionism at bay.

He also emphasised that global leaders should quickly work to conclude negotiations on the various trade pacts such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Moving forward in this, PM Lee said that one of the most important aspects was the relationship between USA and China as this will determine stability in the world.

He also commented that there have been signs of a thaw in relations, after a period of friction over historical issues and territorial disputes among China Japan and South Korea and this is good.

PM Lee will soon be heading to Australia for the G20 summit in Brisbane which starts on Saturday.

Source: http://therealsingapore.com

November 14, 2014
At Least Two Singaporeans Went to Syria to Join ISIS

SINGAPORE: The escalation of violence in Syria and Iraq over the last three months, as well as the expansion of the Islamic State (IS) threat beyond the two countries’ borders, have raised the security threat posed to Singapore. Two Ministers took turns to address concerns raised by Members of Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 7).

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean shared the Government’s assessment of the situation, while Foreign Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam said that countering the terrorism threat has to ultimately be “in the arena of ideas”.

COUNTERING EXTREMIST IDEOLOGY

Mr Shanmugam said as many as 15,000 people from about 80 countries could have joined IS and other radical groups fighting in Syria and Iraq. This is the largest mobilisation of foreign fighters since the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s – the conflict that ultimately created the Al Qaeda terrorist network.

This region is not immune to the threat, with many joining in the fight in Syria and Iraq, he said. To combat the threat, Mr Shanmugam raised three points.

Firstly, international solidarity and action will send a strong signal to the IS that the world has rejected its extremist agenda.

Secondly, IS in both Iraq and Syria must be dealt with as one entity. He said any overall strategy must include a political solution to end the conflict in Syria, and political will to develop an inclusive and tolerant government in Iraq.

Lastly, military force alone will not be enough. “Military force is necessary to blunt IS on the ground but missiles and rockets alone cannot and will not bring peace,” said Mr Shanmugam. “This brings me to my third point – the true fight has to be in the arena of ideas. We have to counter the extremist ideology which is used to recruit foreigners to terrorism and fuel their violent agenda.”

He added that the threat posed by IS was real and everyone must do their part to combat global terrorism.

THE THREAT TO SINGAPORE

Mr Teo elaborated on the threat of the IS closer to home. IS continues to actively recruit foreign fighters – including Southeast Asians – and its brutality is not confined to beheadings of Westerners, but also to the killing of other Muslims and minority communities in Syria and Iraq, Mr Teo told Parliament.

A United States-led coalition of more than 40 countries, including several Arab states, is now taking counter-action against IS, he added.

“We currently have no information of any specific threat to us resulting directly from beheadings of IS and the anti-IS strikes,” Mr Teo said. “However, our assessment remains that the expansion of the IS threat beyond Syria and Iraq has raised the threat not only to countries who are part of the US-led coalition but also to Singapore.”

As with the threat from Al-Qaeda, he said, “even if Singapore is not itself a target, foreign interests here may be targeted. This House may recall that Al Qaeda, working with the Jemaah Islamiyah Group, had planned to bomb the US and other embassies in Singapore in 2002”.

There are also reports that some Malaysians and Indonesians who have fought for IS have formed a militant group called Katibah Nusantara Lid Daulah Islamiyyah, or Malay Archipelago Unit for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

“If this group expands in Southeast Asia, it will pose a regional terrorism threat like the JI terrorist network, which had also aimed to set up a Southeast Asian Islamic Archipelago that encompassed Singapore, through the use of violence and terrorism,” Mr Teo said.

LOCAL SECURITY MEASURES IN PLACE

The DPM said Singapore’s security agencies are working with its security partners to monitor the situation in Syria and Iraq closely though the exchange of information, and will cooperate with them to counter the threat posed by foreign terrorists to Singapore.

There are also measures to prevent Singaporeans from getting involved in the violence there or from carrying out activities in support of IS, he said, such as co-sponsoring the UN Security Council resolution on foreign terrorist fighters.

“Any Singaporean who assists, supports, promotes or joins violent organisations like IS would have demonstrated a dangerous tendency to support the use of violence. Such a person poses a real threat to Singapore’s national security, and will be dealt with in accordance with our laws,” he said.

“Our approach will be carefully calibrated to the specifics of each case. Where necessary, the Internal Security Act (ISA) will be used in order to pre-empt and neutralise these terrorism threats to the security of our citizens and our country.”

In response to a question by Workers’ Party MP Low Thia Khiang, Mr Teo said that there are at least two known Singapore citizens who have gone to Syria to take part in the fight, though their exact whereabouts are unknown.

He added that authorities will continue to investigate anyone who expresses support for terrorism or an interest to pursue violence.

LOCAL COMMUNITY HAS PART TO PLAY

The Deputy Prime Minister also called on everyone to play a part in protecting Singapore against the terrorism threat. This includes alerting the authorities early to prevent family and friends from becoming radicalised.

There are also various community initiatives to counter IS’ radical rhetoric, he noted. The Religious Rehabilitation Group, for example, plans to produce online videos to debunk IS’ ideology to better reach out to Internet-savvy youths who are most at risk of being radicalised via social media, he said.

Mr Teo also mentioned a meeting was organised in July, with various community leaders, for them to understand what the Muslim community is doing to counter the threat.

“The threat is always there, but it’s something which we have to continue to work hard together, to bring people together, and help them understand the problem, and that our Muslim community is taking proactive and real steps to deal with this issue,” he said.

“All members of the public can also play their part by being alert to suspicious persons, objects and activities. A timely call to the authorities could well save many innocent lives. By working together, we can make Singapore a safer place for everyone,” Mr Teo added.

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/rise-of-islamic-state/1401872.html

October 9, 2014
Islamic State Millitants and the Unmistakable London Accent

It is the now familiar nightmare image. A kneeling prisoner, and behind him a black-hooded man speaking to camera. The standing man denounces the West and claims that his form of Islam is under attack. He then saws off the head of the hostage. Why did Wednesday morning’s video stand out? Because this time the captive was an American journalist — James Foley — and his murderer is speaking in an unmistakable London accent.

The revulsion with which this latest Islamist atrocity has been greeted is of course understandable. But it is also surprising. This is no one-off, certainly no anomaly. Rather it is the continuation of an entirely foreseeable trend. Britain has long been a global hub of terror export, so much so that senior US government officials have suggested the next attack on US soil is likely to come from UK citizens. All countries — from Australia to Scandinavia — now have a problem with Islamic extremists. But the world could be forgiven for suspecting that Britain has become the weak link in the international fight against jihadism. And they would be right. This is not even the first beheading of an American journalist to have been arranged by a British man from London.

In 2002, 27-year-old Omar Sheikh was in Pakistan. A north London-born graduate of a private school and the London School of Economics, he had gone to fight in the Balkans and Kashmir in the 1990s. In 1994 he was arrested and jailed for his involvement in the kidnapping of three Britons and an American in India. Released in 1999 in exchange for the passengers and crew of the hijacked Air India flight IC-814, he was subsequently connected to the bombing of an American cultural centre in Calcutta in January 2002 and that same month organised the kidnapping and beheading of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Back then it was possible to dismiss Omar Sheikh as a one-off — a macabre fluke. His alma mater shrugged off concerns about the number of London-based students who had got involved in Islamic extremism or the radical preachers touring the country. The shrug became a little harder to maintain — though maintained it was — the next year when two British men — Asif Hanif, 21, from -Hounslow in west London and Omar Khan Sharif, 27 — carried out a suicide bombing in a bar on the waterfront in Tel Aviv. Omar Sharif had been a student of King’s College London, just across the road from LSE. That time the glory of killing three Israelis and wounding over 50 was claimed by the terrorist group Hamas.

As the list of British-born jihadists grew, their activities also got closer to home. On 7 July 2005, British-born Muslims carried out the first suicide bombings on British soil, with four more attempted a fortnight later. On Christmas Day 2009, the former head of the Islamic Society at University College London attempted to explode a bomb on a plane as it landed in Detroit. Last year, two converts decapitated Drummer Lee Rigby in broad daylight in south London. It is important to keep in mind that these are just the most high-profile cases. But the list of cases which were thwarted by good security work or sheer luck is astonishing. As well as the constant stream of convictions, at least one large-scale mass atrocity attempt on the lives of the British public was thwarted each year. As were smaller attempts. Everybody still remembers the killing of Lee Rigby, but how many people recall the case of Parviz Khan’s Birmingham terrorist cell? Khan was convicted in 2008 for a plot the previous year to kidnap and behead a British Muslim soldier on video.

All the while, as the list of jihadists grew, so did the number of places where they could train. Perhaps as many as 4,000 people from Britain are thought to have gone to train or fight in Afghanistan. Estimates of the number of British citizens who have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq range from just over 500 to 1,500 (a figure from Khalid Mahmood, a Birmingham Labour MP). If the larger figure is correct, it would be significantly higher than the number of Muslims currently serving in Britain’s armed forces. Some of these jihadists have returned; some have been killed fighting. But it is now obvious that whether we like it or not, this is Britain’s problem.

Involvement in Syria spreads across Britain. As with other conflicts, a large proportion of the Brits going to fight in Syria appear to be — like the murderer of James Foley — from London. This is in line with other work, including a list of all terrorism convictions in the UK to date, which shows that almost half of Islamism-inspired terrorism offences and attacks on UK soil over the last decade were perpetrated by individuals living in London at the time of their arrest.

But involvement in the Syrian conflict has also spread to Birmingham and other places with large Muslim populations, as well as some places that will have surprised the wider public. In February of this year it transpired that the 41-year-old Abdul Waheed Majid from Crawley, West Sussex, had become a suicide bomber. On 6 February the non-Arabic-speaking Brit carried out a truck-bombing against a jail in Aleppo, Syria.

In May, the Instagram account of a British man believed to be from London shows other jihadist war crimes from Syria, including the killing of a prisoner believed to be a loyalist of President Bashar al-Assad. One of the people shooting bullets into their captive is identified as a British man who in another video berates British Muslims for not providing enough support to the jihad. ‘You know who you are,’ he says, ‘from the capital, the Midlands, up north, wherever you may be… it’s a disgrace, that brothers know where these wives are, where these families are, and yet you are buying your nephew or your child a PlayStation 4 or taking them out to Nando’s.’

The list goes on. A cell of young men from Cardiff. Others from Portsmouth. Earlier this month, Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary from west London appeared in a photo he himself posted on Twitter. He is pictured holding a severed head with the caption ‘chillin’ with my homie, or what’s left of him’. This is all part of the strange juncture that Syria has become for British jihadis — a meld of street cool, Islamic extremism and ultra-violence. Even the register in which these men communicate on social media is familiar. For instance Madhi Hassan, 19, from Portsmouth, sent out a media image of himself holding a jar of Nutella, to reassure Brits coming over that they would not lack all comforts.

Of course, one line of argument claims that if we just left all these places alone then none of this would come to us. But we left the Balkans alone and created one generation of jihadists. Then we didn’t leave Afghanistan and Iraq alone — and created another generation of jihadists. Now we have very much left Syria alone — and lo and behold, we seem to have created another jihadist generation. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, apparently. Yet remarkably few people seem to realise that this isn’t really about us.

Nevertheless, it comes ever closer to home. In recent weeks the black flag of jihad as used by Isis has been flown openly in London — supporters of Isis have appeared on Oxford Street — and elsewhere. Just this week, the imam of a leading Welsh mosque resigned after a pro-Isis guest preacher was invited to speak at his mosque.

This battle is going on in households and mosques up and down this country. We fear joining up these dots. And we fear giving offence more than we fear the international opprobrium that is coming our way.

The country that brought liberty to much of the world is now exporting terrorism to large parts of it. Britain needs to look to itself, and address this problem, if there are not to be many more videos like this week’s.

Source: http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9293762/the-british-beheaders/

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August 21, 2014