Moscow is working with Taliban against ISIS, says Russian envoy

Russia’s official envoy to Afghanistan has said that Moscow is now working with the Afghan Taliban in order to stop the growth of the Islamic State in the region. Many Taliban fighters are direct descendants of the Afghan and Pakistani Pashtuns who fought the Soviet Red Army in the 1980s, when the USSR invaded Afghanistan and fought a bloody decade-long war there. But the militant group, which today continues to control much of Afghanistan, despite a prolonged American-led military effort to defeat it, is today being challenged by the Islamic State. Known also as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the group enjoys growing popularity in Afghanistan, as large numbers of tribal warlords have sworn allegiance to it. In contrast, the leadership of the Taliban has rejected the legitimacy of ISIS and refused to recognize its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the caliph of all Sunni Muslims. According to Sunni doctrine, a caliph is the recognized political and religious successor to Muhammad, Islam’s prophet, and thus commands the Muslim ummah, or community.

For the past two years, allegations have surfaced in the world’s media that Russia, fearing the continuing growth of ISIS in Central Asia, has reached out to the Taliban in hopes of halting ISIS’ popularity. Last week, however, Zamir Kabulov, Moscow’s special envoy to Afghanistan, openly admitted that Russia is collaborating with the Taliban against ISIS. “The interests of the Taliban completely coincide with ours”, said Kabulov, and added that Moscow maintains “communication channels with the Taliban to exchange intelligence”. It is important to note that Kabulov, who was born in Soviet Uzbekistan, is arguably the most knowledgeable Russian diplomat on matters relating to Afghanistan. Until 2009, he served as Russia’s ambassador to Afghanistan, having also served in Iran and Pakistan. Western observers believe that Kabulov is not simply a “career diplomat”, as he presents himself, but a former officer in the KGB, the USSR’s foremost intelligence agency. He is also believed to have served as the KGB’s chief of station in Kabul during the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, and to have worked closely with Khad, the intelligence agency of Soviet-dominated Afghanistan.

Kim Sengupta, a defense correspondent of British broadsheet The Independent, argues that Kabulov’s announcement reflects the growing ties between the Federal Security Service (FSB), one of the KGB’s successor agencies, and the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s current intelligence agency. The latter maintains open lines of communication with the Taliban. There is also a question about the extent of Russia’s collaboration with the Taliban in pursuit of common goals. Kabulov implied last week that the collaboration centers on intelligence-sharing. But Sengupta suggests that Moscow may also be supplying weapons and ammunition to the Taliban, through Russian ally Tajikistan. He also notes that other regional powers, including China and Iran, are warming up to the Taliban, which they increasingly view as a more reasonable alternative to ISIS.

http://intelnews.org/2016/01/08/01-1841/

ISIS evacuates its headquarters to escape coalition’s airstrikes in Mosul

(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – On Thursday, some witnesses in Nineveh Provinces stated, that the ISIS organization has evacuated its main headquarters in Mosul to avoid the aerial bombardments of the international coalition and Iraqi aviation, while pointed out that the organization has taken the residential neighborhoods in the city as alternative headquarters.

The witnesses said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “During the last two days, ISIS elements have evacuated their main headquarters and check points in order to secure themselves from the international coalition aviation’s air strikes,” adding that, “The organization has taken the residential neighborhoods in Mosul as alternative headquarters.”

Noteworthy, ISIS has imposed its control over the city of Mosul in Nineveh Province in the 10th of June 2014, while extended its activities to several provinces and regions.


 http://www.iraqinews.com/features/isis-evacuates-headquarters-escape-coalitions-airstrikes-mosul/

Exclusive: New Video Shows Group Making Remote Controlled Car Bombs

 

Scientists in the Syrian city of Raqqa are making weapons for Islamic State, including robot controlled car bombs and ground-to-air missiles.

http://news.sky.com/video/1617244/inside-is-weapons-lab 

Police Discover Paris Bomb Factory In Brussels

Explosives, handmade belts, and the fingerprint of a Paris attacks fugitive were found in a Brussels apartment, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors say the clues were found during a raid on a flat on 10 December, confirming an earlier report by a Belgian newspaper.

The property in the district of Schaerbeek had been rented under a false name that might have been used by a person already in custody related to the Paris attacks, officials added.

A fingerprint belonging to Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam was found

The find suggests that the 13 November shooting and suicide bomb attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed, were at least partially planned in Belgium.

A fingerprint belonging to Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam was discovered, along with clues suggesting explosive belts may have been manufactured there.

"Material that can be used to fabricate explosives as well as traces of TATP (acetone peroxide) were found," a statement from the Belgian federal prosecutor said.

"Three handmade belts that might be used to transport explosives as well as a fingerprint of Salah Abdeslam were also discovered."

Acetone peroxide is an ingredient which is often used in improvised explosive devices used by terrorist groups.

It is relatively cheap and easy to obtain, around the world because of its low cost and relative ease to obtain.

Abdeslam's brother Brahim blew himself up during the Paris attacks. He is still on the run after disappearing following the massacres.

The attackers wore suicide vests during their attacks on the Stade de France, Bataclan, and bars and restaurants.

http://news.sky.com/story/1619012/police-discover-paris-bomb-factory-in-brussels

Police Report Describes Cologne Attacks Mayhem

A leaked document from one officer claims there were "anxious citizens with crying children" as women were robbed and assaulted.

An internal police report following a string of sex attacks during New Year celebrations in Cologne has described how women were forced to run through mobs of drunken men.

The document, made public by German newspapers, came amid allegations that officers struggled to cope with the large crowds of disorderly revellers - as "several thousand males with a migrant background" hurled fireworks and bottles.

It recounted how policemen were met by "anxious citizens with crying and shocked children" as numbers swelled at Cologne's main train station in the minutes before midnight.

Jens Floeren, a federal police spokesman, has confirmed the authenticity of the report - but stressed it was the "subjective assessment" of one officer who was at the scene.

In total, 121 criminal complaints of sexual assault and robbery during the 31 December festivities in the city centre have been filed, including two accounts of rape.

  :: Cologne Attacks: Offenders Could Be Deported

Investigators have identified 16 young men, largely of North African origin, who could be suspects.

Earlier in the week, interior minister Thomas de Maiziere warned that any asylum seekers who committed a serious crime "must reckon with being deported from Germany".

Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a "fundamental" debate on how to integrate the 1.1 million refugees who were registered in the country last year.

She described the assaults as "repugnant criminal acts that Germany will not accept".

She added: "The feeling women had in this case of being at people's mercy, without any protection, is intolerable for me personally as well.

"We must examine again and again whether we have already done what is necessary in terms of deportations from Germany in order to send clear signals to those who are not prepared to abide by our legal order."

:: Calls For Police Chief To Quit Over Sex Attacks
Cologne's police chief has said he will respond to widespread criticism of how his force handled the incident when he appears in front of the state legislature's home affairs committee on Monday.

In Switzerland, local police have said several women were also robbed and sexually assaulted in Zurich on New Year's Eve in attacks which seemed "a little bit similar" to those reported in Cologne.

Sex Attack Victims Speak Out

 

Officers in Finland have also confirmed that there were a higher-than-average number of sexual harassment complaints in Helsinki as revellers welcomed in 2016.

Officials claimed they were tipped off about groups of asylum seekers who were planning to assault women.

Members of Cologne's Muslim community, including some who have lived in the city for decades, have joined other Germans in condemning the attacks.

:: Cologne Mayor Under Fire Over Attacks Comment
One woman said: "Everywhere it says this has something to do with Muslims. What I read and learned in the Koran is completely different.

"I've been here for 30 years myself and I've never seen anything like this."

A German-Tunisian lawyer has described the assaults as inexcusable, but criticised the police for identifying some of the attackers as North African before making any arrests.

Mehdi Labidi said: "Germany is a tolerant country but I find this really strange that an entire ethnic group is being branded as criminals.

"If far-right extremists attack North Africans then we are going to file a criminal complaint against police for incitement."

http://news.sky.com/story/1618820/police-report-describes-cologne-attacks-mayhem

Iran embassy bombing: Saudis targeted Yemen site - Tehran

Iran has accused Saudi-led coalition warplanes of "deliberately" bombing its embassy in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.
State media quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying members of staff had been wounded in an air strike.
Sanaa residents reported dozens of air strikes on Thursday by the coalition, which is battling Houthi rebels.
However, residents and witnesses in Sanaa reported there was no damage to the embassy after the air strikes, Reuters and AP report.
An AP reporter at the site said the embassy was still standing and had no visible damage.
A coalition spokesman said the strikes had targeted rebel missile launchers, and that the rebels had used abandoned embassies for operations.
Saudi Arabia has become embroiled in a diplomatic row with Iran after a Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, was executed by the Saudi authorities.
The government in Riyadh accuses Iran of supporting the Houthis militarily - a charge it denies.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35251917

ISIS Vows to Destroy Saudi Prisons after Executions

Threat comes after executing 47 people execution of 47 people including 43 convicted Al-Qaeda militants.

RIYADH: ISIS threatened to destroy Saudi Arabian prisons holding extremists after Riyadh’s execution of 47 people including 43 convicted Al-Qaeda militants.

The militant group, which has claimed responsibility for attacks in the kingdom and stepped up operations in neighboring Yemen, singled out the al-Ha’ir and Tarfiya prisons where many Al-Qaeda and ISIS supporters have been detained.

“The Islamic State (ISIS) always seeks to free prisoners, but we calculate that the ending of the issues of prisoners will not happen except with the eradication of the rule of tyrants, and then destroying their prisons and razing them to the ground,” it said in an article posted online on Tuesday.

An ISIS supporter killed himself in a car bomb at a checkpoint outside Ha’ir prison near Riyadh in July.

While ISIS and Al-Qaeda are rivals who have condemned each other on ideological grounds, they are both united in enmity towards Saudi Arabia, which has declared them terrorist groups and locked up thousands of their supporters.

Riyadh’s mass execution on Saturday included four Shi’ite Muslims, among them prominent cleric Nimr al-Nimr, a move that heightened sectarian tensions with Shiite power Iran. But analysts say it was mostly meant as a message to militant Sunnis.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings and shootings in Saudi Arabia since Nov. 2014 that have killed more than 50 people, most of them Shiites but also more than 15 members of the security forces.

Saudi security officials say the group’s supporters inside Saudi Arabia mainly act independently, depending on ISIS for only limited logistical help and advice, making them harder to detect, but also less capable of attacks on well protected targets.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Pensinula (AQAP) threatened in December to “shed the blood of the soldiers of Al Saud” if its members were executed.

AQAP is the Yemen-based wing of the global militant movement and was formed by local extremists and veterans of Al-Qaeda’s earlier uprising in Saudi Arabia from 2003-06, for participation in which most of those executed on Saturday were convicted.

http://english.aawsat.com/2016/01/article55346259/isis-vows-to-destroy-saudi-prisons-after-executions