Reader links May 26 – 2015

This post has all its contents in the comments. For the newest freshest videos and news stories of interest to the Counter-Jihad and the Geopolitics of Islam, please click comments and add to, or read what is posted there.

Some will be integrated into the day’s posts and others not. But this way we can keep a great news flow going without interfering with the conversations about the issues under the various essays and news items in the posts that will be presented throughout the day.

Thank you all for your informative and important contributions.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

29 Replies to “Reader links May 26 – 2015”

  1. Bangladesh bans Islamist group accused of blogger attacks (BBC, May 26, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32879662

    “Bangladesh has banned an Islamist militant group accused of attacking and killing three secular bloggers, the interior ministry has said.

    Its move to outlaw the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) comes after police called for the group to be banned.

    All three bloggers were hacked to death with sharp weapons earlier this year.

    The attacks have led to big protests from activists who have accused the authorities of failing to protect critics of religious bigotry.

    Police said last week that preliminary investigations implicated the the ABT in the three bloggers’ murders….”

  2. Local Media: Several Kenyan Police Officers Killed in Ambush (abcnews, May 26, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/local-media-kenyan-police-officers-killed-ambush-31301387

    “Several Kenyan police officers were killed in an attack Monday night by suspected Somali militants in the northeastern Garissa county, where 148 students were massacred last month, local media reported.

    A police spokesman, George Kimoti, confirmed there was an attack in the Garissa region but declined to give more details.

    “Please give us time to consolidate all the information,” he said.

    The Daily Nation newspaper of Kenya reported that at least 20 police officers were feared dead, the victims of an ambush Monday night by al-Shabab militants in Yumbis village.

    The police officers — who were on their way to rescue another team of officers wounded in an attack earlier on Monday — were moving in a convoy of four vehicles, according to the newspaper. The vehicles reportedly were burned.

    The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab has carried out several attacks in Kenya in retaliation for Kenya’s military involvement in Somalia, where Kenyan troops are part of an African Union force bolstering the Western-backed central government.

    Despite major setbacks in 2014, al-Shabab continues to wage a deadly insurgency against Somalia’s government and remains a threat in the East African region.

    The group claimed responsibility for a deadly assault last month on a college in Garissa town.”

  3. Australia to Pass Law to Strip Citizenship for Terror Crimes (abcnews, May 26, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/australia-pass-law-strip-citizenship-terror-crimes-31300578

    “Australia plans to pass a law within weeks to give the government power to strip citizenship from dual nationals who are suspected terrorists even if they are not convicted of a crime, the prime minister said Tuesday.

    More than 100 Australians are suspected to be fighting with the Islamic State movement and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. Up to 50 percent of those fighters were estimated to be dual citizens, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.

    The amendments to the Citizenship Act would allow Islamic State supporters both overseas and at home to be treated the same as Australians who join foreign armies at war against Australia, Abbott said.

    The Immigration Minister Peter Dutton would have the discretion to revoke Australian citizenship from dual nationals suspected of terrorism, even if they had been not been convicted of any offense, Abbott said. The decision would be subject to judicial appeal.

    “There should be no difference in how we treat Australians who join a hostile army and those engaged in terrorism — both are betraying our country and don’t deserve to be citizens of Australia,” Abbott said in a statement.

    The amendment would bring Australian citizenship laws closer to those the United States, Canada, France and Britain, he said. No one was to be left stateless by losing their Australian citizenship.

    Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Parliament that a 26-year-old Australian woman whom newspapers reported on Tuesday had abandoned her two children, aged 5 and 7, in Sydney this month to go to Syria and join the Islamic State movement was not an isolated case. There are an estimated 30 to 40 Australian women engaged with or supporting terrorists in the two countries, she said.

    “I’m deeply pessimistic about the fate of this apparently troubled young woman, but I’m thankful she left her children in the safety of Australia and didn’t put them in mortal danger as others have done,” Bishop told Parliament.

    “It’s simply incomprehensible that while streams of innocent young women and girls are desperately trying to get away from Daesh, young Australian women and girls are seeking to join them,” she added, referring to the Islamic State movement.

    The government plans to spend 40 million Australian dollars ($31 million) on new intervention programs and community initiatives to prevent young Australians from leaving the country to join terror groups, she said.”

  4. Afghan Forces Struggle as Taliban Seeks Northern Stronghold (abcnews, May 26, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/afghan-forces-struggle-taliban-seeks-northern-stronghold-31301655

    “Taliban insurgents, their ranks swelled by foreign fighters pushed across the border from Pakistan, nearly surrounded this northern Afghan city last month with an offensive that stunned local authorities and raised concerns over their ability to defend the country without U.S. and foreign combat troops.

    Under pressure from a yearlong military offensive in neighboring Pakistan, the Taliban and allied militants — some waving the black flags of the Islamic State group — appear to be trying to carve out a new safe haven in northern Afghanistan that could give them access to Central Asia and China, Afghan officials say.

    As Afghanistan’s U.S.-trained and equipped forces have struggled to fend off the insurgents — who at one point came within 3 kilometers (less than 2 miles) of Kunduz — authorities have increasingly turned to local militias and former warlords, a further indictment of the costly, decade-long U.S. effort to build an effective Afghan military.

    Provincial Gov. Mohammad Omer Safi said 3,000 troops are now battling a well-armed insurgent force of some 2,000 fighters who crashed against the city’s gates late last month at the start of the spring fighting season. He said logistical problems that left troops without food, fuel or ammunition for days on end have been resolved, but that the Taliban have proven tough to dislodge.

    “We have surrounded the enemy everywhere and we will not allow them to advance any further,” he told The Associated Press. “Maybe with the passage of time they will be weakened, run out of ammunition and find themselves moved back. This is not a one day or two days, or one month or two months fight.”

    Safi said that in addition to switching from hit-and-run attacks to seizing and holding territory, the Taliban have also been joined by other militants, including from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The IMU has longstanding ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida, and is believed to have pledged allegiance to the IS group last year.

    There are ominous signs of a growing IS presence in northern Afghanistan. Safi said fighters have raised the group’s black flag in nearby villages, and that foreign fighters from Turkey, Chechnya, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have been found among the dead.

    A Western intelligence official said the extent of the IS presence in Afghanistan remains unclear, saying “there is a lot of self-branding, rather than franchising.”

    But an Afghan intelligence official said the group is present in at least four of the country’s 34 provinces, mainly in the south. He pointed to the beheading of seven Afghan soldiers in northern Badakhshan province last month, noting that the tactic has rarely been used by the Taliban. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.

    Gen. John F. Campbell, the commander of international forces in Afghanistan, said Saturday that the IS group is actively recruiting but is not yet operational in the country. He also noted reports that IS militants have clashed with the Taliban.

    Safi, the Kunduz governor, said the army had managed to push back the insurgents to Gor Tepa, some 15 kilometers from the provincial capital, but that their progress was slow because the Taliban were occupying civilian homes and using human shields.

    “We cannot destroy the houses of the poor civilians when the Taliban are inside so we cannot use our heavy artillery against the enemy,” he said…..”

  5. Iraq starts operation to drive Islamic State from Anbar (BBC, May 26, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32882540

    “Iraqi government forces have formally launched an operation to drive Islamic State (IS) out of Anbar province.

    The announcement was made by a spokesman for the Popular Mobilisation (al-Hashd al-Shaabi), a volunteer force comprising dozens of Shia militias.

    The operation would see troops and militiamen move southwards from Salahuddin province and seek to cut off IS militants in Ramadi, he said.

    The city fell to the jihadists earlier this month after Iraq’s army withdrew…..”

  6. Austrian 14-year-old jailed on ‘terrorism’ charges

    A 14-year-old Austrian schoolboy was convicted Tuesday of “terrorism” charges and given eight months in prison plus a further suspended jail sentence of 16 months.

    The defendant, named only as Mertkan G., was found guilty of belonging to a “terrorist” organisation and planning to commit a “terrorist” act, the court in Sankt-Poelten ruled. He was accused of intending to bomb a Vienna train station.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-austrian-14-year-old-jailed-on-terrorism-charges-2015-5

    ———————————————————————————–
    Austria sentences 14-year-old ‘terrorist’ Mertkan G to eight months in prison

    Vienna: A 14-year-old Austrian boy with ties to Islamic extremists has been convicted of planning to bomb a Vienna train station and has been sentenced to eight months prison in a juvenile detention centre.

    The schoolboy, named only as Mertkan G, has also been found guilty of belonging to a “terrorist” organisation and given an additional suspended jail sentence of 16 months by a court in his hometown of Sankt-Poelten.

    According to the charge sheet, the teenager, who emigrated from Turkey in 2007, wanted to carry out the attack before travelling to join the “holy war” in Syria fighting for Islamic State.

    Police had said at the time of his arrest in October 2014 that the boy made “concrete enquiries about buying ingredients” for a bomb and “planned to explode the devices in public places, such as the Vienna Westbahnhof,” a major train station.

    His lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, had said that his client – who turns 15 in coming days – had only been “playing with the idea” of making a bomb.

    He has been in custody since January after breaking the terms of his parole.

    Unconfirmed press reports said that IS had offered to pay him $35,000 if he managed to carry out the attack.

    In common with other European countries, Austria has seen a steady flow of people leaving or attempting to leave the country in order to join IS militants in Syria and Iraq.

    According to the Austrian interior ministry, more than 200 have done so, including some women and minors. About 70 have since returned, several of whom are in custody awaiting trial.

    http://www.smh.com.au/world/austria-sentences-14yearold-terrorist-mertkan-g-to-eight-months-in-prison-20150526-ghabpw.html

  7. EGYPT – 20 teen school boys try to rape teacher

    She prevented them from cheating in exam

    Twenty teenage school boys tried to rape their female teacher in Egypt after she prevented them from cheating in the examination, newspapers reported on Sunday.

    The unnamed teacher decided to expel the boys in preparatory class after catching them cheating in the final examination at the school in capital Cairo.

    Newspapers said the students waited for the teacher to step out of school after the examination and attacked her, adding that they ripped her clothes and tried to rape her before other teachers and students intervened and saved her.

    The papers said the education ministry decided to suspend the school manager and his aides for failing to report the incident and taking measures against those students.

    http://www.emirates247.com/crime/world/20-teen-school-boys-try-to-rape-teacher-2015-05-24-1.591706

  8. Migrants: Ban Ki moon, Europe is getting old, needs migrants

    DUBLIN – Europe is getting old. If Europe is to retain its economic dynamism, Europe needs migrants: this message was launched in Dublin by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on the eve of his meetings in Brussels with the leadership of the European Union. Speaking in Dublin Castle to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the admission of Ireland to the United Nations, the UN chief reiterated the need “to go to the roots” of the phenomenon of migration.

    “Push factors include conflict and under-development. One pull factor includes the simple lure of an escape from poverty and deprivation. Europe must also acknowledge another: its workforce deficit. Europe is experiencing low population growth and demographic transition to an aging population. If Europe is to retain its economic dynamism, Europe needs migrants”, said Ban.

    more :

    http://www.onuitalia.com/eng/2015/05/25/migrants-ban-ki-moon-europe-is-getting-old-needs-migrants/

  9. Pakistan: Lahore lawyers rage outside Punjab Assembly Building

    PAKISTAN – Hundreds of angry lawyers gathered in front of the Punjab Assembly Building in Lahore on Tuesday, setting part of the building on fire as two of their colleagues were shot dead by police in a meeting with opposition leader Imran Khan the day before.

  10. TURKEY – Elif Dogan Turkmen, the main opposition deputy candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was shot in the leg during an armed assault in a restaurant in the province of Adana on Tuesday.

  11. Vice News – Jihadists vs. the Assad Regime: Syria’s Rebel Advance ( 17 min 23 )

  12. Islamic state – SYRIA – Raqqa «“Joy of the Mujahidin With the Substantive Conquests – Wilayat al-Raqqah”»

  13. BREITBART – AFDI’s New Free Speech Bus and Train Ad Campaign Featuring Muhammad Cartoon

    […]The ad campaign has been submitted to the Washington, D.C. MTA to run on buses and train dioramas in the Foggy Bottom, Capitol South, Bethesda, L’Enfant Plaza, and Shady Grove stations.

    “Drawing Muhammad is not illegal under American law, but only under Islamic law. Violence that arises over the cartoons is solely the responsibility of the Islamic jihadists who perpetrate it. Either America will stand now against attempts to suppress the freedom of speech by violence, or will submit and give the violent the signal that we can be silenced by threats and murder.”

    “We cannot submit to the assassin’s veto.”[…]

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/26/afdis-new-free-speech-bus-and-train-ad-campaign-featuring-muhammad-cartoon/

  14. MEMRI TV – Tunisian Cleric Bechir Begga: Satan and the Jews Are the Enemies of the Muslims

  15. CANADA – Ontario Signs Agreement of Cooperation with the Ismaili Imamat
    Joint Initiatives to Promote Education, Diversity and Economic Development

    Premier Kathleen Wynne welcomed His Highness the Aga Khan to Queen’s Park today for the signing of a historic Agreement of Cooperation between the province and the Ismaili Imamat. The agreement outlines areas of cooperation and joint initiatives, including leveraging diversity and culture as an economic driver and supporting a pluralistic approach to education.

    In the agreement and its related appendices, the government and the Ismaili Imamat have agreed to collaborate on mutually beneficial education initiatives in an effort to foster capacity-building and promote the exchange of knowledge and expertise. Projects include the secondment of Ontario teachers to the Aga Khan Academies; the creation of opportunities for Aga Khan Academy graduates to attend Ontario’s world-class post-secondary institutions; and the exploration of a range of curriculum-linked resources that emphasize intercultural understanding and that draw on the Aga Khan Museum for its teaching collection and expertise on pluralism of Muslim culture to support learning in Ontario schools.

    The agreement also includes the establishment of policy forums to examine leveraging culture as an economic driver and harnessing Toronto’s diverse population to put Canada’s financial capital at the forefront of global economic cities.

    During the visit, Premier Wynne also joined His Highness for the inauguration of the Aga Khan Park. Toronto’s newest cultural hub, the Aga Khan Park encompasses the Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan Museum, both of which were opened in September 2014.

    The Aga Khan Park is the ninth park project to be undertaken by the Aga Khan Development Network, a group of development agencies and institutions that support social, economic and cultural development projects. Located around the globe, these parks, when properly maintained, can contribute to improving quality of life in urban areas and in many cases have also proven to be economic generators that bring about positive social change.

    The Park will now join the Centre and Museum in hosting various cultural, educational and social programs and events that promote intercultural dialogue and exchange of ideas.

    The Aga Khan Academies are an integrated network of day and residential schools dedicated to expanding access to education of an international standard of excellence. Each Academy aims to develop home-grown leaders with a strong sense of ethics and civic responsibility as well as to identify and develop teachers who are committed to both the all-round development of young people and their own professional excellence.
    The Aga Khan Museum’s mission is to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the contribution that Muslim civilizations have made to world heritage.
    The Museum received $100,000 in funding through the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund for its inaugural season programming. Through education, research and collaboration, the Museum will foster dialogue and promote tolerance and mutual understanding among people.

    http://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2015/05/ontario-signs-agreement-of-cooperation-with-the-ismaili-imamat.html

  16. Libyan jets attack oil tanker off Sirte

    Benghazi-based government says ship was carrying reinforcements and weapons for rebel fighters

    Libyan jets have attacked an oil tanker off the coast near the city of Sirte that the Benghazi-based government said was carrying reinforcements and weapons for rebel fighters.

    “Our jets warned an unflagged ship off Sirte city, but it ignored the warning,” Saqer al-Joroushi told Reuters. “We gave it a chance to evaluate the situation, then our fighting jets attacked the ship because it was unloading fighters and weapons.

    “The ship now is on fire. We are in war and we do not accept any security breaches, whether by land, air or sea,” Jourushi said.

    An oil industry official said the ship was a tanker carrying 25,000 tonnes of oil. He named the tanker as Anwar Afriqya.

    Rida Essa, commander of coastal guards in central Libya, said the tanker had been unloading oil for Sirte’s power plant when it came under attack. He said a crew member and a port worker had been wounded.

    Libya remains gripped by a power struggle between two governments fighting for control, with the internationally recognised government operating out of the eastern city of Benghazi having lost control of the capital, Tripoli, to the rival grouping last year.

    Sirte’s power plant, on the western outskirts of the city, is controlled by forces loyal to the Tripoli government. The rest of the city has fallen into the hands of Islamic State militants, who have exploited the chaos and security vacuum in Libya four years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/24/libyan-jets-attack-oil-tanker-sirte

  17. CANADA – MONTREAL – RCMP raid home of suspected radicalized youth
    Mounties obtained warrant to search the home

    The RCMP and Montreal police carried out several raids, including one at a home in St-Léonard where a teenager suspected of trying to join jihadist fighting was recently arrested.

    Investigators obtained a search warrant, but did not say what they are looking for. RCMP confirmed this is the first time they’ve raided this residence.

    RCMP also said the home is the residence of one of the 10 Montreal youth arrested on suspicion of trying to leave the country to join jihadists in Turkey and Syria.

    All 10 were released and no charges were laid.

    The passports of those arrested have been confiscated.

    RCMP said investigators have met with the friends and families of the people trying to leave Canada.

    A lawyer for one of the people arrested told Radio-Canada his client is a “victim” who was approached online and promised “a better life.”

    Some of those arrested have ties to the six Quebecers who are thought to have left for Turkey, en route to Syria, in January.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/rcmp-raid-home-of-suspected-radicalized-youth-1.3087704
    ——————————————————————————–
    CTV – RCMP conducting Montreal raids believed linked to radicalization probe

    video on the page :

    http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/rcmp-conducting-montreal-raids-believed-linked-to-radicalization-probe-1.2391820

  18. video – large number of IS supporters arrested in Ramadi by Hezbollah militants

    • Hezbollah Brigades arrest hundreds of ISIS elements in Anbar

      (IraqiNews.com) Baghdad- on Monday, Hezbollah Brigades announced the arrest of hundreds of ISIS elements from non-Iraqis in Anbar province, while confirmed besieging the city of Ramadi from three axes.

      The brigades said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “Hezbollah Brigades in coordination with the security forces has carried out operations in the vicinity of Ramadi resulted in the arrest of hundreds of ISIS militants from non-Iraqis.”

      “After the operation, Ramadi is under siege from three axes: the east of Khalidiya district, the south of al-Tash district and from the west of Kilo 35,” the statement added

      The deputy head of Anbar Provincial Council Faleh al-Issawi said on Monday that the international coalition was forced to accept the participation of “resistance factions” and al-Hashed al-Sha’bi militia in Anbar battles, after threatening to leave the battle.

      http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/hezbollah-brigades-arrest-hundreds-isis-elements-anbar/

  19. AUSTRALIA – Men charged with throwing pork on planned mosque site

    TWO Beerwah men have been charged with throwing pork products at a Maroochydore site proposed to become an Islamic place of worship.

    Sunshine Coast detectives will allege the men, age 18 and 24, bought the pork products at a supermarket on Friday night before travelling to the Church St address being considered to become a mosque.

    The men then allegedly threw meat onto various parts of the building, leaving a mess that had to be cleaned.

    “The two men stated they had meant it as a joke and were extremely remorseful for their actions,” police said.

    Officers said the men were not associated with any activist groups associated with objections to the mosque being located at Maroochydore.

    “Police are satisfied this was a one off incident involving these mean who acted alone.”

    The two men were today charged with wilful damage and will appear at the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on June 19.

    http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/man-charged-throwing-pork-planned-mosque-site/2651223/