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Yemen: 15 Houthis killed, dozens wounded in Nihm fighting

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Fierce fighting in Yemen’s Nihm continued to rage between the legitimate forces, backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, and Iran-backed Houthi militias, like reported by aawsat.com.

Nihm is seen as the northeastern gateway to the capital Sanaa that is controlled by the Houthis.

Yemeni military media reported that at least 15 Houthis were killed and dozens injured and arrested in the latest fighting.

Thursday’s casualties have brought to the Houthi death and injury toll to the hundreds, said the sources. Unconfirmed reports said Abdulkhaliq al-Houthi, the brother of the militia leader, was among the injured.

The Houthis held funerals for their dead in Sanaa. Among them was Sharafeddine Abdulsalam al-Houthi, Ahmed Yehya al-Kabsi, Ali Hussein al-Kabsi and Ali Ahmed Masoud.

Local sources in the Dhamar province south of Sanaa said the militants buried more than 30 of their fighters, who were killed in the Nihm and Dhale fronts.

Sources from the military revealed that dozens of Houthi corpses remain on the battlefields.

The legitimate forces, backed by coalition artillery and air cover, were, meanwhile, making progress on three fronts towards the Nihm region.

In Marib, Yemeni security sources said the Houthis fired rockets at residential areas. Among the damaged houses was that of MP Masaad Hussein al-Swadi. His daughter-in-law and granddaughter were killed in the strike. Four people were wounded, included a lawmaker.

Rights groups in Marib, meanwhile, appealed to the United Nations and international community to protect the people in the city against Houthi attacks.

During a rally on Thursday, they urged the international community to hold the Houthis behind the rocket fire to account and make sure they do not escape punishment.

Parliament condemned the repeated attacks on Marib’s residential areas, urging the government and military to send reinforcements to Nihm and liberate Sanaa.

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EU preparing to expand training to Burkina Faso as security deteriorates

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Burkina Faso faces a collapse similar to the one in northern Mali in 2012 if Europe does not substantially step up its military presence and aid, according to senior EU and national military officers and officials, according to janes.com.

Speaking during a 22 January hearing of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE), the officials said the situation is so serious that the EU Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) needs to be expanded into Burkina Faso.

Lieutenant General Esa Pulkkinen, director general of the EU Military Staff, said Burkina Faso had suffered 2,000 jihadist-related deaths in 2019, exceeding the number in Mali for the first time. “Burkina [Faso] faces total meltdown, which is why an extension of EUTM Mali into the country is critical. The mere provision of military advice will not be enough. We need to do advisory and training there as we do in Mali. The country is very exposed; they are not able to defend themselves,” he said.

He added that there are indications that local militants are being empowered by ones with experience from other conflicts. “We have seen their fingerprints there already, and their tactics and procedures are very effective; they are flipping in their experience from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. This is very worrying,” he said.

Birgitte Markussen, head of Africa desk at the European External Action Service, the EU’s foreign policy wing, agreed. “Crisis is unfortunately the new reality in this region. It is time for the EU to scale up, and we are rethinking our whole political, security, military, economic, and humanitarian approach to the region,” she said.

Lt Gen Pulkkinen’s broad assessment was supported by Rear Admiral Xavier Petit, head of planning and logistics at the French military’s Centre for Planning and Operations, which oversees the country’s 4,500-strong Operation ‘Barkhane’ counter-insurgency mission in the Sahel region.

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Mercenaries Turkey sent to Lybia are seeking refuge in Europe

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On Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan orders, the Turkish state had been deploying its mercenaries from Syria to Libya. The Syrian mercenaries used primarily in the occupation of Afrin in Rojava were sent to Libya in order to support the Tripoli-based government under the prime ministry of Fayez al-Sarraj, like reported by anfenglish.com.

The London-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory has disclosed that most of the 2400 mercenaries sent to Libya have actually left their weapons and have escaped. An important part of these mercenaries, according to the Observatory have fled to Algeria to reach European Union member countries.

The Observatory also reported that at least 17 of these mercenaries, Syrian citizens, have reached EU territory and requested asylum in Italy. The Syrian Human Rights Observatory said that they had access to this information thanks to the families of these mercenaries still living in Syria.

In its previous statement, the Observatory reported that the Turkish state had sent about 2,400 Syrian citizens to Libya so far. It also noted that Turkey is training a further 1,700 mercenaries to be sent to Libya.

Meanwhile, according to Western media outlets Turkey has 80 military officially in Libya. While Turkish sources said they have 35, Erdoğan claimed that these soldiers were in Libya for training and coordination of the soldiers of the Tripoli government, not for fighting.

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“Dead man walking”: Abdullah Qardash is new head of Islamic State

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Western intelligence agencies have reportedly confirmed that a non-Arab is now leading the Islamic State for the first time in the organization’s history. Rumors of a new leader of the group began to circulate just hours after American forces killed its self-styled Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. On October 27, 2019, Newsweek magazine reported that the militant group, which is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), had appointed a man known as Abdullah Qardash (pictured) at its helm. According to the magazine, Qardash’s name was sometimes spelled in English as Karshesh. Additionally, he was sometimes referred to by his ISIS moniker, Hajji Abdullah al-Afari.

However, the names reported by Newsweek were not immediately recognizable to Western intelligence officials and other experts who monitor the Islamic State. But now British newspaper The Guardian reports that Western intelligence services have concluded that the man referred to as “Abdullah Qardash” in October is indeed the new leader of ISIS. The paper said on Monday that the new ISIS leader’s birth name is Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi. He is allegedly not an Arab, but rather an Iraqi Turkman whose family comes from Tal Afar, a northwestern Iraqi city that is close to the borders of Syria and Turkey. In fact, al-Salbi is reported to have a brother in Turkey, who is a prominent member of an ethic political grouping called the Turkmen Iraqi Front.

Al-Salbi, who was allegedly appointed as leader of ISIS just hours after al-Baghdadi’s demise, is believed to be the first non-Arab to ever lead the militant group. Like most of ISIS’ original founders, al-Salbi is believed to have met Baghdadi in 2004 in Camp Bucca, an American-administered prison in Umm Qasr. Similarly to al-Baghadi, al-Salbi’s background is in Islamic education —something that enabled him to quickly rise in the ranks of ISIS ideologues and command significant influence. By 2018, al-Salbi had become a central decision-maker within the group, and was able to shape its activities and policies within its territory in the Middle East and beyond. The Guardian article concludes that al-Salbi is “a hardened veteran in the same vein as al-Baghdadi”, which implies that no major changes in the Islamic State’s strategy are expected to take place under his leadership.

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Chad: female suicide bomber kills 9 civilians

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Nine civilians died in Western Chad after a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives in an area targeted in the past by militant group Boko Haram, the army and officials said.

Chad is one of the countries struggling with violence that has spilled over from Nigeria’s decades-long insurgency, AFP reported.

The attack took place overnight Sunday in the village of Kaiga Kindjiria.

“A suicide bomber blew herself up yesterday in Kaiga Kindjiria, killing nine people, two women and seven men,” an army source said.

The toll was confirmed by Chadian Army Spokesman Colonel Azem Bermandoa.

“It is Boko Haram, There is no doubt,” the spokesman added.

Kaiga-Kindjiria, a village of about 7,000 people, is located near the vast Lake Chad region where militants hide out among islets and marshlands to launch attacks on Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger.

In August, a suicide bomber killed five civilians and a soldier in the same village. Militants also killed four Chadian villagers and kidnapped four women near Lake Chad earlier this month.

Boko Haram began in Nigeria but its attacks have spread to neighboring countries. A faction affiliated with the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), is particularly active around Lake Chad.

The suicide attack in Western Chad came as French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly visited the Chad capital N’Djamena, where she met her Chadian counterpart on Monday morning.

Countries in the region have banded together to fight Boko Haram and ISWAP with support from civilian defence committees.

In early January, 1,200 Chadian troops, deployed as part of the regional force in Nigeria, returned to Chad to be redeployed around the Lake, where attacks have multiplied in recent months.

The conflict in Northeast Nigeria has killed 35,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes as well as spilling over its borders.

The militants have splintered into rival factions, with one group loyal to long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and the other pledging allegiance to the ISWAP group.

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France: 7 muslims detained over plans for terror attack

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Security forces detained seven men who were believed to be planning a terrorist attack in France, like reported by aa.com.tr.

According to French media, the suspects, who are between the ages of 28 and 38, were detained by the country’s DGSI domestic intelligence agency in the city of Brest in northwestern France.

They were also believed to be planning to travel to conflict zones in Iraq and Syria.

On June 27 last year, two people, including an imam, were wounded when a gunman opened fire in front of the Sunna mosque in Brest.

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Nigeria: Islamists attack key aid facility housing United Nations workers

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Heavily armed jihadists have carried out an “extremely violent” attack on a vital aid facility housing United Nations workers in northeast Nigeria, the UN said Monday according to dailymail.co.uk.

No aid workers were harmed in the assault, but a military source said that one soldier and four assailants died in the ensuing gunfight.

Islamists in several trucks fitted with machine guns stormed the humanitarian hub near a camp holding 55,000 displaced people in the remote town of Ngala on Saturday, humanitarian and military sources said.

The UN said it “was outraged by the extremely violent attack on this key humanitarian facility where five United Nations staff were staying at the time of the incident”.

The attack is the latest to target aid workers trying to tackle the vast humanitarian crisis caused by the decade-long jihadist insurgency in northeast Nigeria.

An aid worker said the jihadists fired anti-aircraft machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades as they engaged soldiers in battle.

“The soldiers managed to evacuate the aid staff to their base close by while fighting continued,” the aid worker said.

The UN said that an “entire section of the facility was burned down as well as one of the few vehicles UN agencies rely on for movement and aid delivery”.

UN humanitarian coordinator for northeast Nigeria Edward Kallon said he was “shocked by the violence and intensity of this attack, which is the latest of too many incidents directly targeting humanitarian actors and the assistance we provide”.

A Nigerian military officer said that the attackers “had also abandoned a vehicle laden with explosives intended for a suicide attack near the humanitarian hub”.

Twelve aid workers were killed in northeast Nigeria in 2019 as the conflict has become increasingly perilous for those trying to deliver humanitarian assistance to the hundreds of thousands of displaced.

Two female humanitarian workers are still being held by jihadists after being kidnapped.

The jihadist conflict in northeast Nigeria has killed 35,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes.

The jihadists have splintered into rival factions, with one group loyal to long-time Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and the other pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack from either faction.

The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting the formation of a regional military coalition to fight the Islamists.

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Hamas, Iran-tied militants, intensify Bitcoin fundraising action

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A militant group with ties to the Iranian regime and Hamas — the de facto ruling authority of the Gaza Strip in Palestine — is allegedly upping its Bitcoin (BTC) fundraising activities. The spur for the increase is reportedly a slump in resources, compounded by Iran’s recent rejection of the group’s request for financial support.

An analysis of the group’s activities was detailed in a cyber desk report from the IDC’s International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), as reported by the Jerusalem Post on Jan. 19.

“Irregular increase” in wallet activities
The ICD-ICT cyber desk report claims there has been an “an irregular increase in the scope of activity” of a BTC wallet address (1LaNXgq2ctDEa4fTha6PTo8sucqzieQctq) it ties to the fundraising activities of the Hamas and Iran-affiliated “al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades,” the military wing of the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).

The PRC is a coalition of armed local groups, formed in late 2000, in opposition to what they perceive to be the overly conciliatory line taken by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah towards the Israeli regime. The al-Nasser Brigades were active in both the 2008-9 and 2015 wars in Gaza and clashed with Israeli forces in Nov. 2018 in response to the killing of a PRC militant.

The Brigades were also responsible for the high-profile kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shilat in 2006, eventually freed as part of a prisoner exchange in 2011.

Brigades raised almost $24 million in Bitcoin
According to ICT’s findings, a thorough review of the transactions associated with the wallet revealed that it served a “a seemingly legitimate financial website by the name of cash4ps,” which ostensibly enables the Brigades to send and receive funds out of the Gaza strip whilst ensuring a degree of anonymity to donors and beneficiaries.

The report, which mapped the Brigade’s network of media platforms and various online fundraising strategies, ties the wallet address to a company allegedly identified as operating an account registered at the Islamic National Bank (INB).

INB was blacklisted by the United States Treasury in 2010 due to its being controlled by Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. It has also been declared illegal by the PA, the Palestinian Monetary Authority and the Palestinian Capital Market Authority.

As of Dec. 1 2019, ICT claims that the total transaction volume in the wallet had hit 3,370 Bitcoin ($29 million at press time), having performed thousands of transactions over a four-year period.

ICT identified the company’s two physical addresses in the Gaza strip, as well as a key figure purportedly behind the fundraising scheme, Ramadan Alkurd (a.k.a. Wesam Ismael), whose ties to Hamas they traced and documented.

An ICT representative has advised the U.S. government to designate all the accounts identified in the report as terrorist-affiliated entities, and to implement more robust regulatory and legal measures for Bitcoin exchanges in cooperation with international allies.

Hamas’ financial isolation
Hamas’ financial isolation stems from its classification as a terrorist organization, in whole or in part, by several countries and international blocs — including the U.S. and the European Union.

Having ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, Hamas comprises a social service arm “Dawah” and a militant faction “Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades,” the latter of which initiated this year’s Bitcoin fundraising appeal.

Russia, Turkey and China are among those who do not designate Hamas as a terrorist entity.

As reported, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades has likewise allegedly availed itself of Bitcoin contributions, according to investigations by blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic and others.

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Afghanistan: Taliban kills 6 members of same family

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The Taliban has killed six members of the same family, including an infant girl, in a remote village in the country’s north, Afghan officials say according to rferl.org.

The Taliban denied involvement, saying the attack on January 18 was triggered by a personal dispute.

However, local Afghan officials said January 19 the family was sentenced to death by the Taliban for immoral acts before being shot dead, said Jawed Bedar, a spokesman for Faryab Province’s governor.

The infant girl’s mother and twin sister survived, but both of the child’s legs had to be amputated, Bedar said.

Afghan security forces deployed to the village early January 19 and helped evacuate the two survivors to the hospital.

Bedar said the Taliban attacked the government troops when they arrived. Three Taliban members were killed in the ensuing gun battle.

The Taliban now controls or holds sway over approximately half of Afghanistan.

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Iran threatens European troops in Middle East

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Iran has threatened European troops in the Middle East, warning: “Today, the American soldier is in danger, tomorrow the European soldier could be in danger”, like reported by telegraph.co.uk.

Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, made the threat at a cabinet meeting a day after Britain, France, and Germany moved to take a harder line against Iran’s escalating violations of the nuclear deal.

Iran had already said it would target US troops in the region in retaliation for the killing of General Qassim Soleimani but Mr Rouhani’s comments mark the first time Iran has threatened European troops.

Britain has around 400 troops in Iraq and around 1,000 in Afghanistan as well as others deployed across the region.

Meanwhile, Rob Macaire, the UK ambassador in Tehran, has left the country for the first time since his arrest last week. UK officials said it was a pre-planned trip to London and that he would return to his post in Tehran.

Mr Rouhani’s comments came as Iranian protesters continued to take to the streets in anger after the Revolutionary Guard admitted after several days of false denials that it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner and killed all 176 aboard.

In a sign of growing tensions between the democratically elected Rouhani government and more hardline Revolutionary Guard, Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, said the people “were lied to” over what happened in the air disaster.

Mr Zarif and Mr Rouhani said they were kept in the dark about the real cause of the crash for several days as the Revolutionary Guard falsely denied shooting down the plane. They have tried to steer public anger towards the Guard and away from the government.

“In the last few nights, we’ve had people in the streets of Tehran demonstrating against the fact that they were lied to for a couple of days,” Mr Zarif said.

US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear in 2018 and reimposed crushing sanctions on Iran. Over the last year, Iran has been gradually violating terms of the nuclear deal in protest at the US action.

Tehran took its most drastic step on January 5, days after Soleimani’s death, announcing that it would no longer adhere to limits on uranium enrichment, a rule designed to stop it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Britain, France, and Germany – known as the E3 – have long supported the nuclear deal but announced on Tuesday they formally accused Iran of breaking its commitments and triggered a dispute mechanism under the agreement.

The decision means the two sides have 60 days to negotiate an agreement to resolve the dispute. If they cannot, UN sanctions on Iran that were suspended under the deal may “snap back” into place.

Mr Trump has oscillated between saying he wants Iran to return to the negotiating table to thrash out a stricter deal and saying he doesn’t care about negotiations as long as Iran doesn’t try to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Boris Johnson attempted to woo him on Tuesday by suggesting that the president negotiate “a Trump deal” to replace the current one negotiated by the Obama administration.

The suggestion apparently appealed to Mr Trump who tweeted his approval. “Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, @BorisJohnson , stated, “We should replace the Iran deal with the Trump deal.” I agree!”

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