Reader-links submission post for June 2 – 2015

Daily Links Post graphic

In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.

This way, under the various posts of the day, conversation can take place without as much ‘noise’ on the various links and articles and ideas in the main posts and all the news links being submitted can be seen under these auto-posts by clicking on the comments-link right below these ones.

Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.

About Eeyore

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

41 Replies to “Reader-links submission post for June 2 – 2015”

    • From SITE https://news.siteintelgroup.com/

      The Islamic State’s (IS) “West African Province,” formerly known as Jama’at Ahl al-Sunnah Lil Dawa Wal Jihad (Boko Haram), released a video showing fighters explaining the areas controlled by the group and also showed scenes of combat. The nine-minute, 59-second video, titled, “Attacks by the Soldiers of the Caliphate in West Africa,” was released on June 2, 2015.

      The release marks the first video showing combat from IS’s West African Province with Nigerian forces.

      In the video, a fighter countered claims that attacks by the government were diminishing its operations, and claimed that the group was thriving in the areas it controls:

      We say again to our brothers that we are well. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, the One and Only. The Qur’an schools, Hadith schools, and courses for technology, weapons, and other fields of knowledge are carrying on securely. All praise is due to Allah. I swear by Allah that no one can demolish the religion. Even if they were to kill all of us, if only one or two survived, they would rebuild the wilayah. And we are uncountable in the forest of Sambisa! We are thousands of mujahidin here.

      Scenes of combat showed fighters firing from trucks while driving down a highway, and also showed dead bodies on the ground afterward.

      Later in the video, fighters showed what was presented as a downed “Nigerian military jet,” which they alleged was shot down the morning of the scene’s filming:

      Good news to our brothers all over the world. Allah the One and Only downed this Nigerian military jet throughout our hands this morning. This was not by our power and ability buy by the power of Allah. Here are the pieces of the jet engine and the other parts. Here are its bullets, which were not fired but were exposed to fire and are now burning. Here is the jet propeller. Everyone can see this. Thus is the jet. President of Nigeria Jonathan, here are your goods.

  1. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other delegates from around 20 countries including Bahrain, France, Norway arrived at the anti-Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) strategy meeting held in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, Tuesday.

  2. Iraq: Hundreds attend funerals of police and militiamen killed in ISIL attack

    • Gunmen kill 9 in attack on aid workers in northern Afghanistan (washingtonpost, June 2, 2015)
      http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/militants-kill-aid-workers-in-afghanistan/2015/06/02/9e689884-090f-11e5-9e39-0db921c47b93_story.html

      “KABUL — Gunmen stormed a compound housing a European-run charity on Tuesday, killing at least nine people in one of the deadliest attacks on humanitarian workers in Afghanistan in recent years.

      The victims, all Afghans employed by Czech Republic-based People in Need, were sleeping when the attack occurred in northern Balkh province shortly after midnight.

      Officials said the assailants overpowered security guards and shot the victims multiple times. People in Need announced the suspension of its work in Afghanistan while it reevaluates security.

      “We hereby express our deepest condolences to the families of our colleagues, respect to their work, and we condemn this attack, unprecedented in its brutality,” the group said in a statement, noting that it has been working in northern Afghanistan since 2002.

      There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but officials suspect it was carried out by militants affiliated with either the Taliban insurgency or the Islamic State extremist group.

      Last month, the Taliban killed 15 people, including 10 foreigners, when it stormed a hotel in Kabul. Many of those killed were aid workers.

      Both militant groups have recently stepped up attacks in northern Afghanistan, which has been one of the most secure areas in the country.

      Daud Naeem, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, said his agency had been helping People in Need coordinate projects in the region. The group provides humanitarian support during conflict or in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

      “This attack was the most brutal and deadliest of its kind in Balkh,” said Naeem, noting that one of the victims was a woman…..”

  3. Arizona mosque, site of anti-Islam protest, holds ‘love not hate’ event

    PHOENIX (Reuters) – An Arizona mosque where hundreds gathered last week for an anti-Islam demonstration, with counter-protesters shouting “Go home, Nazis,” was the site of a “love not hate” event on Monday to promote peace and inclusiveness, participants said.

    The Islamic Community Center of Phoenix said it was hosting a gathering that includes a multi-faith prayer service and speakers to “show that when one of us is mistreated, our community responds with a message of Love and Not Hate.”

    “We ask that you bring a FLOWER as a symbol of love and care,” the event organizers said on Facebook. “We are better together, and together we are strong.”

    http://www.facebook.com/events/1648234602075105

    Monday’s event, organized by more than 20 groups, comes four days after an anti-Muslim event held outside the mosque drew more than 200 protesters, some armed, who berated Islam and its Prophet Mohammed.

    The rally was held at the mosque in part because two Texas gunmen who opened fire outside an anti-Muslim event in Texas last month had worshipped there, said rally organizer Jon Ritzheimer, an Iraq war veteran.

    As that event unfolded, demonstrators on both sides screamed obscenities at each other as police in riot gear separated the two groups.

    On Monday evening, about 200 participants filed into the mosque, some carrying roses, tulips and daisies.

    “There’s been a lot of effort to divide the faith community and set us apart from one another and we want to demonstrate a strong message of togetherness,” Reverend Erin Tamayo, executive director of Arizona Faith Network, which helped to organize the event, said. “I am praying we don’t get any negative response.”

    Most of those who attended had left by Monday night with no reports of violent flare-ups or arrests.

    Among other co-sponsors of Monday’s were the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona, Arizona Interfaith Movement and the Anti-Defamation League, according to the Facebook posting.

    http://news.yahoo.com/arizona-mosque-anti-islam-protest-holds-love-not-024035803.html

  4. BOSTON Man Under Surveillance by Joint Terrorism Task Force Shot Dead in Boston

    Authorities were searching a home in suburban Boston on Tuesday in connection to the fatal shooting of a man in a terror investigation hours earlier, officials told NBC News.

    The man, Usaama Rahim, had been under surveillance by the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force when he was killed by an officer and a FBI agent outside of a city drugstore, said a senior official with knowledge of the investigation. Authorities were investigating whether Rahim had become radicalized by ISIS-inspired social media messages.

    Law enforcement targeted the home in Everett, north of Boston, and a senior source told NBC News its occupants might also be of interest in the investigation.

    The chain of events began around 7 a.m. ET , when a Boston police officer and an FBI agent approached Rahim near a CVS parking lot in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood.

    Pics from the scene of the police-involved shooting in Roslindale.. A live report on air with @vwarrenon7 pic.twitter.com/JC5I4akyuc
    — 7News Boston (@7News) June 2, 2015

    Rahim pulled out a large knife and ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon, officials said. He was shot, and later pronounced dead at a hospital.

    Law enforcement sources say Rahim had been under investigation and surveillance for several weeks by the Boston JTTF.

    In recent months, ISIS messages worldwide have called for attacks using whatever weapons are at hand, including guns and knives.

    Federal and local sources stressed they did not believe there was a threat to the general public during the investigation.

    Rahim’s brother, Ibrahim Rahim, tweeted in response to his brother’s death.

    “We are deeply grieved by the loss of Usaamah. We understand the need 4 info, but ask that the press 2 give us time to grieve as a family.”
    — Ibrahim Rahim (@rahim_imam) June 2, 2015

    http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-under-surveillance-joint-terrorism-task-force-shot-dead-boston-n368376

  5. Furious Muslim man demands £5,000 payout – because he was ‘served PORK’

    Karim Kazane, 23, slammed Zizzi as “disgraceful” and “insensitive” after he apparently discovered pepperoni – which is not halal – in his meal.

    He claimed to have “lost trust in eating out” since the incident in 2012, saying: “I believe Zizzi have taken that social freedom [I] once had away.”

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/581587/Muslim-pork-Karim-Kazane-Zizzi-pepperoni-Winchester-halal

    • A story like this sends me up the wall.

      It’s the risk anybody who has dietary restrictions takes on himself by eating out. Whether for allergies, religious strictures, or strict vegan preference, eating anything out means risk. It’s a personal choice, a personal responsibility.

      Most ultra-ultra orthodox – anything! – find a few restaurants that cater to their requirements. Or open their own. Others must be aware they’re taking a chance. Is it a big deal?

      My cousin is allergic to seafood. He went to a Chinese restaurant, ordered vegetable soup, having been assured it was a vegetarian selection.
      His breathing passages became swollen instantly, sending him into shock. Fortunately someone had a bee-sting kit and gave him the injection that saved his life.
      Not so fortunately, we found out. How could he have been so stupid? I love my cousin and we almost lost him. I get furious at him just remembering.

      You don’t order mystery soup or stew or anything not immediately identifiable unless you’re prepared to live with the consequences. Order a boiled egg. Still in its shell. A banana. Unpeeled. And carry a bee-sting kit!

  6. Boko Haram Attack on Northern Nigerian City Kills 20 (abcnews, June 2, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/boko-haram-attacks-northeast-city-jet-fighter-deploys-31461571

    “Boko Haram once again attacked the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Tuesday, waking residents with deafening explosions in the early hours of the morning and then a suicide bombing that witnesses said killed as many as 20 people.

    The extremist group which seeks to impose Islamic law across northern Nigeria has repeatedly attacked Maiduguri, the largest city in the northeast, since the newly elected president has designated it as the new headquarters in the war to curb the Islamic uprising.

    “We are under siege,” Sumaila Ayuba, her voice shaking, told The Associated Press by telephone just after midnight from her home on the city’s western flank after her sleep was shattered by the explosions. “The shooting is quite deafening. Please, we need prayers.”

    Hours later, a man blew himself up at Gamboru cattle market, the site of previous bombings, officials said. One witness said he counted at least 20 bodies. The National Emergency Management Agency said 10 people were killed and many others injured. The witness spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

    Some onlookers began stoning the agency’s rescue workers, for unknown reasons. Soldiers fired into the air to disperse the crowd….”

  7. Turkey’s Erdogan to Sue Opposition Over Golden Toilet Claim

    Turkey’s president is suing the country’s opposition leader for slander for allegedly claiming before a national election that bathrooms in his 1,150-room palace had gold-plated seats, his lawyer said Tuesday.

    Lawyer Muammer Cemaloglu told the state-run Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was seeking 100,000 Turkish Lira ($37,000) in compensation from main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

    Erdogan had earlier invited Kilicdaroglu to inspect the $620 million palace, saying he would resign if any gold-plated seats were found. He also called on the opposition leader to do the same if none were found.

    Kilicdaroglu denied in a television interview late Monday that he had made such a claim. He said he had referred to gold-plated toilet seats as a general criticism of lavish spending by officials, and that Erdogan “took it personally.”

    Turkey holds its parliamentary election on Sunday.

    Although Erdogan is supposed to be above politics and isn’t running, he has been campaigning for a victory by the ruling AKP party, which he led for more than a decade as prime minister. If the AKP wins a large majority, that would enable the party to change the constitution and install a presidential system, which would give the head of state — now Erdogan — broad executive powers.

    Addressing thousands of people in the eastern city of Kars, Erdogan on Tuesday repeated his call for Kilicdaroglu to step down if he cannot prove the golden-plated seat claim.

    He asked the people to support a presidential system at the polls, and slammed a pro-Kurdish and a nationalist party who are also contesting seats in the 550-member parliament.

    “There are two parties in our country. One is engaging in Turkish nationalism, the other in Kurdish nationalism,” Erdogan said. “Let’s teach them a lesson at the polls.”

    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkeys-erdogan-sue-opposition-golden-toilet-claim-31462669
    ————————————————————————————
    Erdogan files case against opposition leader over alleged ‘golden toilet seats’

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sued an opposition leader for accusing him of installing golden toilet seats in his residence. The spat comes six days ahead of national elections.

    Erdogan’s lawyer, Muammer Cemaloglu, sought 100,000 Turkish Liras (33,560 euros; $37,300) from opposition chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu as compensation after the opposition leader accused the president of installing gold-plated toilet seats at the newly built presidential palace.

    Erdogan challenged Republican People’s Party head Kilicdaroglu to search the complex and find out for himself.

    “Hey, Kilicdaroglu, when did you tour the toilets and clean them and thus found out that they were gold-plated,” Erdogan asked his opponent, inviting him to inspect the presidential compound.

    Kilicdaroglu rejected the invitation and replied to the president’s attack on CNN Turk television, saying, “I kiss the eyes of those toilet cleaners, those laborers who provide for their children. This answer should be enough.”

    “I know Erdogan’s lust for gold, dollars, euros,” he added.

    The Turkish president has been repeatedly criticized for investing over 490 million euros of taxpayers’ money in building his new official residence.

    The Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects Chambers has joined the debate, claiming the toilets at the presidential palace cost up to 10,000 Turkish Lira or around $3,700.

    The palace has over 1,100 rooms and is built over an expanse of 200,000 square meters in a suburb of Ankara. It is believed to be more than 30 times the size of the White House and bigger than the French palace of Versailles.

    The spat comes shortly before polls are to be held, in which Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) is hoping to clinch a two-thirds majority.

    http://www.dw.de/erdogan-files-case-against-opposition-leader-over-alleged-golden-toilet-seats/a-18492333
    ———————————————————————————–

  8. Egypt Arrests 2 Muslim Brotherhood Leaders, Amid Divisions (abcnews, June 2, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/egypt-arrests-top-muslim-brotherhood-leaders-31461205

    ” Egypt arrested two senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders, officials said Tuesday, increasing pressure on the Islamist group at a time when its ranks are divided over whether to pursue a course of direct violent confrontation with the government in response to a nearly 2-year-old heavy crackdown.

    The arrests came as a judge said Tuesday he would announce his final decision on June 16 concerning a death sentence against former President Mohammed Morsi and more than 100 others found guilty on charges of carrying out a 2011 prison break. Once the decision is finalized, Morsi and others can still appeal the verdict.

    The judge handed down a tentative death sentence against Morsi and the others last month. But under Egyptian law, the country’s top Muslim cleric, the mufti, must issue a non-binding opinion on any death sentence before it can be officially issued. The judge said he had received the mufti’s opinion Tuesday morning and would issue his final ruling on the sentence in two weeks….”

  9. British Actor Joins Kurds Fighting Islamic State Group (abcnews, June 2, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/british-actor-joins-kurds-fighting-31472330

    “A British actor who has had minor roles in Hollywood films has joined Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State group in Syria and appeared in an online video Tuesday.

    Michael Enright, who played a deckhand in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” appeared in a video released by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG. The video showed him in a trench with other fighters firing an assault rifle.

    “ISIS are dangerous to every human being alive,” Enright says in the video, posted on the YPG’s Facebook page on Tuesday, referring to the IS group.

    He called for weapons and medical aid for the Kurdish fighters, describing them as “my havals,” the Kurdish word for comrades.

    The YPG has emerged as a key fighting force against IS in Syria. With the help of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, they have succeeded in liberating dozens of towns and villages in northeastern Syria from IS.

    Dozens of other Westerners now fight with the Kurds, both in Syria and Iraq…”

  10. Saudi-Led Strikes Hit Rebel-Held Army Building in Yemen (abcnews, June 2, 2015)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/saudi-led-strikes-hit-rebel-held-army-building-31475040

    “Yemeni security officials say Saudi-led airstrikes have for the first time hit the rebel-held General Army Command building in the center of the capital, Sanaa.

    They say strikes also hit rebel areas outside Sanaa and in the Arish part of the southern city of Aden on Tuesday, as well as several locations in the city of Taiz, including the command center of the 25th Mechanized Brigade.

    They say airstrikes targeted several gatherings of the rebels, known as Houthis, in the city of Dhale, as well as sites in their northern stronghold, Saada.

    The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief reporters, said that three civilians died in the Sanaa attack and nearby homes were damaged.”

  11. GAZA –Hamas kills Islamic State supporter in Gaza crackdown

    GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas forces have killed an Islamic State group supporter, the first fatality since Gaza’s Islamic rulers launched a crackdown on the more-radical group months ago.

    Hamas spokesman Eyad Al-Bozum says Tuesday that a 27-year-old man died “during an attempt to arrest him.”

    He says the man refused to surrender, then opened fire at Hamas forces and planted explosives in the house where he was holed up.

    The death comes hours after Islamic State supporters gave Hamas a 48-hour ultimatum to end the crackdown and release dozens of suspected IS loyalists rounded up in recent months.

    Hamas blames local Islamic State loyalists for a recent string of small explosions that have targeted Hamas security posts, but often cause no casualties.

    https://uk.news.yahoo.com/hamas-kills-islamic-state-supporter-gaza-crackdown-090117071.html

  12. REBEL MEDIA Ezra Levant and Tarek Fatah: Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State

  13. IRAQ ISIS’s Latest Weapon: Damming the Euphrates

    ISIS closes off all gates of Ramadi dam, threatening humanitarian crisis against pro-regime forces and all others left in region.

    Islamic State (ISIS) group jihadists have closed the gates of a dam in the Iraqi city of Ramadi which they seized last month, posing a humanitarian and security threat, officials said Tuesday.

    ISIS fighters have repeatedly attempted to control dams in Iraq, in some cases reducing the flow of water to areas under government control or flooding swathes of land to impede military operations, reports AFP.

    Anbar provincial council chief Sabah Karhout said ISIS “closed all the gates” at a dam in Ramadi, capital of Iraq’s largest province.

    The move lowered the level of the Euphrates River and cut water supplies to the areas of Khaldiyah and Habbaniyah to the east, which are some of the last held by pro-government forces in Anbar.

    The lower water level has also made it easier for ISIS to carry out attacks, Karhout said.

    He called for the dam to either be quickly retaken or targeted in an air strike.

    “Cutting the water to Khaldiyah and Habbaniyah will lead to a major humanitarian crisis not only in these areas” but also farther south, said Sheikh Rafa al-Fahdawi, a leader in the Albu Fahad tribe, which is fighting against ISIS.

    Aoun Dhiyab, a former head of the Iraqi water resources department and an expert in water issues, said “the goal of (ISIS) is not to cut the water, but to reduce the level, to take advantage of it for military purposes.”

    “When the water level is reduced, it allows them to infiltrate from Ramadi to Khaldiyah and then easily move to other areas,” he said.

    Iraqi forces have launched a counteroffensive to try to recapture Ramadi but have so far either stopped on the city’s outskirts or focused efforts on severing jihadist supply lines.

    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/196193

    ———————————————————————————–
    Daesh shuts down Ramadi Dam in Iraq

    Growing fears civilians may be forced to leave homes after Daesh cuts off water flow to army-controlled areas east of Ramadi

    Daesh shut down Ramadi Dam on Tuesday and cut water flow to areas controlled by the Iraqi security forces east of the city in Anbar province, a senior military official said.

    Brigadier General Aziz Khalaf al-Tarmouz, an Anbar security advisor, told Anadolu Agency that Daesh seized control of Ramadi Dam, on the Euphrates River north of the city.

    “Daesh cut water flow to al-Khalediya district and al-Habbaniya area, which are under the control of security forces and tribal fighters,” al-Tarmouz said.

    The security advisor said the incident may cause a wave of civilian displacement from the area.

    On May 17, Daesh took control of Ramadi after overrunning government forces.

    http://www.aa.com.tr/en/u/521082–daesh-shuts-down-ramadi-dam-in-iraq

        • Man arrested in Everett in connection with to Roslindale shooting

          Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) — A man was was arrested in Everett in relation to a Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation.

          A local man, 26-year-old Usaama Rahim, was shot and killed by law enforcement agents after he allegedly approached officers with a large, military-style knife in Roslindale Tuesday morning. He had been under 24-hour surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI confirmed in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

          In Everett, police blocked off Linden Street, unsettling neighbors, and officers entered a home there late Tuesday afternoon. A man was arrested, sources tell FOX25, and that search is connected to the activity in Roslindale.
          The investigation spread into Rhode Island, FOX25 has learned, where the Joint Terrorism Task Force has been conducting surveillance that may also be connected to the terrorism investigation.

          FOX video on the page :

          http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/29221994/sources-person-taken-into-custody-in-everett-related-to-roslindale-shooting

  14. Bill Clinton’s foundation cashed in as Sweden lobbied Hillary on sanctions

    Bill Clinton’s foundation set up a fundraising arm in Sweden that collected $26 million in donations at the same time that country was lobbying Hillary Rodham Clinton’s State Department to forgo sanctions that threatened its thriving business with Iran, according to interviews and documents obtained by The Washington Times.

    The Swedish entity, called the William J. Clinton Foundation Insamlingsstiftelse, was never disclosed to or cleared by State Department ethics officials, even though one of its largest sources of donations was a Swedish government-sanctioned lottery.

    As the money flowed to the foundation from Sweden, Mrs. Clinton’s team in Washington declined to blacklist any Swedish firms despite warnings from career officials at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm that Sweden was growing its economic ties with Iran and potentially undercutting Western efforts to end Tehran’s rogue nuclear program, diplomatic cables show.

    “Sweden does not support implementing tighter financial sanctions on Iran” and believes “more stringent financial standards could hurt Swedish exports,” one such cable from 2009 alerted Mrs. Clinton’s office in Washington.

    Separately, U.S. intelligence was reporting that Sweden’s second-largest employer, telecommunications giant Ericsson AB, was pitching cellphone tracking technology to Iran that could be used by the country’s security services, officials told The Times.

    By the time Mrs. Clinton left office in 2013, the Clinton Foundation Insamlingsstiftelse had collected millions of dollars inside Sweden for his global charitable efforts and Mr. Clinton personally pocketed a record $750,000 speech fee from Ericsson, one of the firms at the center of the sanctions debate.[…]

    5 more pages :

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/2/clinton-foundations-sweden-fundraising-arm-cashed-/#ixzz3bxJVS0vm

  15. NORWAY : Terrorists among refugees

    Between five and ten quota refugees picked out by the UN to come to Norway, are terrorists, according to the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST).

    PST confirms to the newspaper Dagbladet that both Islamic State (IS) and the Nusra Front, which is connected to Al Qaida, have attempted to send terrorists to Norway disguised as refugees.

    PST says to the paper that investigators have on two differen missions to the Middle East discovered that nearly ten persons scheduled to leave for Norway, had connections with the two organisations.

    They had been slated by the UN High Comissioner for Refugees UNHCR to receive residence permit in Norway.

    – Unffortunately, there are individuals who try to exploit and misuse the refugee institute, says PST spokesman Svein Erik Molstad to Dagbladet. He says that PST has exposed several uch attempts.

    http://www.norwaypost.no/index.php/news/latest-news/30897
    ————————————————————————————
    UN quota refugees had terror links: Norway PST

    Several refugees sent to Norway under the UN’s quota system turned out to have close links to the terror groups Islamic State (IS) and the al-Nusra Front, Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) has revealed.

    According to the service, between five and ten of the 1,000 Syrians chosen to go to Norway by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), were discovered to have links to the one of the two terror groups.

    “Unfortunately, there are some who try to exploit and abuse the refugee agency,” Police Superintendent Svein Erik Molstad told Norway’s Dagbladet newspaper. “We have discovered more quota refugees with ties to the al-Nusra front and IS,” he said.

    PST investigators have so far made two trips to the Middle East, where it works with Norway’s Foreign Ministry to vet refugees passed to Norway under the UN’s quota system.

    According to Molstad, the investigations have also uncovered refugees with backgrounds in Syria’s feared secret police, as well as others suspected of carrying out war crime’s during the country’s ongoing civil war.

    Although PST is now working in the Middle East, its officers neither interview nor have other direct contact with prospective refugees.

    Dagbladet has also learned of Islamic extremists using refugee reception centres as recruiting grounds for terrorists.

    “It’s a scenario we are aware of,” Martin Bernsen, PST’s director told the newspaper.

    Dagbladet has information that several people who have received asylum in Norway have later become central in the radicalized Islamic community in the country.

    “We can not give any guarantees. Our fear is that one or more terrorists we are not aware of manages to get to Norway,” he said.”

    http://www.thelocal.no/20150602/un-quota-refugees-had-terror-links-norway-police

  16. We are winning! I mean; we have the winning strategy! I think I am dreaming! lol

    Iraq coalition winning against IS, says US (BBC, June 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32962870

    “Iraq and its allies are pursuing “the winning strategy” to combat Islamic State in Iraq, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

    Mr Blinken said air strikes and supporting Iraqi forces was the right way to tackle the IS threat.

    Ministers from 20 countries debated the issue in Paris – though Russia, Iran and Syria were absent.

    Iraq’s prime minister said other countries had a duty to support it in its struggle against IS….”

  17. Somalia’s al-Shabab enters Kenyan village (BBC, June 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32973587

    “Somalia’s militant Islamist group al-Shabab has entered a remote village in north-eastern Kenya, despite the fact that it is only about 15km (nine miles) from a military base, residents say.

    Hundreds of people have now fled Warankara and schools have shut, they said.

    This is only the second time that al-Shabab is known to have occupied territory in Kenya.

    The al-Qaeda-linked group has its headquarters in neighbouring Somalia.

    The BBC Somali Service’s Mohammed Mohammed says al-Shabab appears to be implementing its threat to “take the war” to Kenya.

    Last month, it invaded Yumbis town, also in the north-east, before withdrawing without a fight.

    Residents in Warankara, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, told the BBC that the militants have been patrolling the village.

    People were scared, but the gunmen have not harmed anyone, they said.

    The militants had also given sermons in the village, residents added….”