ISIS burns fighters alive for letting Ramadi fall

ISIS fighters who fled to the terror group’s Iraqi stronghold of Mosul after being defeated in Ramadi were burned alive in the town square, sources told FoxNews.com, in an unmistakable message to fighters who may soon be defending the northern city from government forces.

Several residents of Mosul recounted the grisly story for stateside relatives, describing the deadly reception black clad jihadists got when they made it to Mosul, some 250 miles north of the city retaken by Iraqi forces operating with cover from U.S. air power.

“They were grouped together and made to stand in a circle,” a former resident of northern Iraq now living in the U.S. but in touch with family back home told FoxNews.com. “And set on fire to die.”

Several Iraqi-Americans and recent refugees with close relatives in Mosul told of ISIS fighters fresh off defeat in Ramadi being shunned – and executed – for not fighting to the death in Ramadi.

Michael Pregent, a terrorism expert and former intelligence adviser to Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq, said such an act isn’t new for the callous terror group. A similar fate was meted out to fighters who lost Saddam’s hometown to Kurdish forces last year.

“There is no surprise on executing ISIS fighters from Ramadi,” he said. “They did the same to fighters after Tikrit.”

The retaking of Ramadi, the capital of the mainly Sunni-populated Anbar Province which ISIS took over last May, was a major setback for ISIS. Just 80 miles west of Baghdad, the city was overrun by ISIS in June, 2014. Iraqi forces, fighting with Sunni tribes and supported by coalition forces, recently took it back but the city remains in ruins. Booby-traps, landmines and a broken infrastructure have rendered it mostly uninhabitable for the time being.

With government, Kurdish and coalition forces now mustering to recapture Mosul, which fell to ISIS approximately 18 months ago, an increasingly paranoid ISIS has stepped up its murders of women and children, according to people trapped in the city.

“They come to the house and take the children and accuse them of being spies,” said a stateside Iraqi with knowledge of the situation. “If the mom cries and gets upset at them, they accuse of her being a spy too and take her to the jail and later kill her.”

The terrorist group is feeling the heat of a coming onslaught, said Pregent.

“ISIS is fracturing, paranoid from within,” Pregent continued, noting that ISIS has two intelligence directorates – one for internal threats the other for external ones – and both are focused on unearthing “threats” to their existence within areas under their thumb. “They are using women and children executions to intimidate – the harsher the tactic the more desperate the leadership is.”

Clint Watts, Fox fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, agreed.

“They continue to lose territory, we’ve seen a growing number of defections and a rise in the number of alleged internal spies – many of whom they have killed mercilessly without demonstrating significant evidence of internal espionage,” he explained. “ISIS pattern of internal killings looks remarkably similar to al Shabaab’s decline in Somalia.  As Shabaab lost ground and defectors increased, internal killings and harsher punishments were meted out across the terror group further accelerating the loss of local popular support.”

Earlier this year, activist group Mosul Eye reported that ISIS committed mass executions of men and children at Alhud Village just south of Mosul, accusing the entire township of apostasy and affiliation to the local Iraqi police forces. In late December, several teenagers aged between 12 and 16 were reportedly caught trying to flee across the Tigris River toward the Kurdish region, and subsequently accused of being “spies” by ISIS and within minutes publicly executed in front of their families.

As it stands, communications within the besieged city remain spotty, but many are able to get messages out via telephone or Internet – although at great risk.

“The residents have little electricity or water, there is no salary for people working, there are no medicines to cure illnesses,” another insider based in Iraq observed. “Civilians are in a state of despair.

“Everyone just lives their lives in complete fear,” he said.  “They don’t know who will be next – man, woman or child.”

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/01/12/isis-burns-fighters-alive-for-letting-ramadi-fall.html

Polish ex-leader Walesa denies he was communist spy, calls for debate

Poland’s first post-communist president, Lech Wałęsa, has denied allegations that he was secretly a communist spy and has called for a public debate so he can respond to his critics. In 1980, when Poland was still under communist rule, Wałęsa was among the founders of Solidarność (Solidarity), the communist bloc’s first independent trade union. After winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, Wałęsa intensified his criticism of Poland’s communist government. In 1990, following the end of communist rule, Wałęsa, was elected Poland’s president by receiving nearly 75% of the vote in a nationwide election. After stepping down from the presidency, in 1995, Wałęsa officially retired from politics and is today considered a major Polish and Eastern European statesman.

But in 2008, two Polish historians, Sławomir Cenckiewicz and Piotr Gontarczyk, published a book claiming that, before founding Solidarność, Wałęsa was a paid collaborator of the SB, Poland’s communist-era Security Service. In the book, titled Secret services and Lech Walesa: A Contribution to the Biography, the two historians claim there is “compelling evidence” and “positive proof” that Wałęsa worked as a paid informant for the SB between 1970 and 1976, under the cover name “Bolek”. Wałęsa claimed that the documents unearthed by the two historians had been forged by Poland’s communist government in order to discredit him in the eyes of his fellow-workers during his Solidarność campaign. But the critics insisted, and in 2009 a new book, written by Polish historian Paweł Zyzak, echoed Cenckiewicz and Gontarczyk’s allegations. Citing sources “that prefer to remain anonymous”, the book, titled Lech Walesa: Idea and History, claimed that Wałęsa fathered an illegitimate child and collaborated with the SB in the 1970s. Like Cenckiewicz and Gontarczyk, Zyzak worked at the time for the Warsaw-based Polish Institute of National Remembrance (INP), which also published his book. The INP is a government-affiliated organization whose main mission is to investigate, expose and indict participants in criminal actions during the Nazi occupation of Poland, as well as during the country’s communist period. It also aims to expose SB clandestine agents and collaborators.

This past Monday, Poland’s former president published an open letter on his personal blog, in which he asked for a “substantive public debate on the Bolek imbroglio”. He said he wanted to end this controversy once and for all, by facing his critics before the public. Wałęsa added he had “had enough” of the “constant stalking” he faced by “both traditional media and Internet publications”. He went on to say that he had already asked the INP to host a public meeting with authors and historians, including his critics, in which he would participate. Later on Monday, the INP confirmed it had received a letter from Wałęsa, in which the former president asked for the opportunity to participate in a public meeting about the “Bolek affair”. Cenckiewicz, who co-authored the 2008 book on Wałęsa with Gontarczyk, reportedly wrote on Facebook that he would agree to participate in such a debate. The INP said it would plan to host the debate in March of this year.

http://intelnews.org/2016/01/12/01-1843/ 

Top Suspect in Paris Attacks Had Traveled to Britain, Officials Say

The man believed to be the coordinator of the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris had previously traveled undetected to Britain despite being named in an international arrest warrant for his role in a foiled plot in Belgium in early 2015, European law enforcement officials said Monday.

Officials said they had recovered photos from the cellphone of the man, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, that included snapshots of major London landmarks. The confirmation that Mr. Abaaoud had been able to enter Britain, reportedly through a ferry terminal at Dover, led the opposition Labour Party on Monday to call for an “urgent review” of security at British seaports.

Belgian law enforcement officials confirmed that photographs of British landmarks were on Mr. Abaaoud’s cellphone, which was captured by the French police during a raid in the Paris suburb of St.-Denis five days after the attacks. Mr. Abaaoud and two others were killed in the raid.

The exact dates of Mr. Abaaoud’s trip and the full list of places he visited remain unclear, as do his reasons for visiting Britain.

Mr. Abaaoud is the second person connected to the Paris attacks who is believed to have visited Britain in the months leading up to the attacks. According to French news media reports, Mohamed Abrini, who disappeared after being seen traveling between Paris and Brussels with one of the central figures in the attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was seen near Birmingham, in England’s Midlands region, in July.

Investigators have not said how they think Mr. Abaaoud entered Britain, but it is possible that he did so using either a false identity card or one borrowed or stolen from another person.

Eric Van der Sijpt, a spokesman for Belgium’s federal prosecutor, said the suspects in the Paris attacks “are known to travel through Europe using false identity cards,” adding, “Our investigation has shown that they have done so repeatedly.”

During 2015, Mr. Abaaoud’s ties to the Islamic State became increasingly clear. After a foiled attack in Verviers, Belgium, the Belgian authorities put out an international arrest warrant for him. In the February issue of the Islamic State’s magazine, Dabiq, Mr. Abaaoud boasted that he was able to travel freely to and from Europe. In July, a Belgian judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison in absentia for being part of a recruitment network in Europe for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. The report of Mr. Abaaoud’s visit to Britain appeared in The Guardian.

The claims increase pressure on the British government to take additional security steps, especially at its ports. The home secretary, Theresa May, was criticized last week after it emerged that the man many believe to have been featured in the latest Islamic State video, Siddhartha Dhar — also known as Abu Rumaysah — left Britain, also via the port of Dover, while on police bail.

On Monday, Andy Burnham, who speaks for the Labour Party on police and security issues, said the latest reports added to “the growing questions about border security at our seaports.”

“Not only did we discover last week that a U.K. terror suspect on bail waltzed out at the border, we now learn a terror suspect from the Continent freely walked in through the same route,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Burnham described the ferry border as a “weak link” and urged the home secretary to “conduct an urgent review of border security at ferry terminals and provide urgent reassurance that passports are being properly checked on exit and arrival in the U.K.”

The Metropolitan Police and the West Midlands Police, which cover the two areas that Mr. Abaaoud is reported to have visited in Britain, said they could not confirm that he had been in the country. 

 The Home Office declined to comment on Mr. Burnham’s statement, or on the reports that Mr. Abaaoud had traveled to Britain.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/world/europe/top-suspect-in-paris-attacks-had-traveled-to-britain-officials-say.html?_r=0 

Saudi Arabia thwarts attacks, puts 532 ISIL suspects on trial

Officials said that the suspects belonged to six cells and were planning to attack security agencies and the US embassy in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia has confirmed that 532 suspects belonging to local cells that have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are soon to stand trial in a court in the kingdom.

Saudi's interior ministry said that the suspects were arrested in a series of pre-emptive raids across the country, which reportedly thwarted a series of attacks.
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Officials said that suspects belonged to a total of six cells. The majority of those arrested were Saudi citizens while other suspects hailed form countries such as Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Algeria, Chad and Nigeria. At least two among those detained were women, a report in local daily Saudi Gazette said.

Among those arrested, four were experts in manufacturing explosives and preparing booby-trapped cars, local media reported.

The interior ministry noted that 15 suspects, belonging to a single cell, had already reached an advanced level of planning an attack in the kingdom. Security officials said that the group was targeting security headquarters and residential complexes. They had also planned a suicide operation at the United States embassy in Riyadh and were plotting attacks on intelligence prisons in the city where ISIL suspects are held.

Saudi Arabia – which saw a series of suicide bombings and solitary shootings in 2015- has become more vigilant against splinter groups after ISIL urged its followers in the kingdom to attack the government.

It has periodically detained people suspected to be sympathetic to hardline groups and has foiled a number of attacks in the process.

Saudi’s security forces arrested 421 suspects last year, saying that many were part of the group who planned blasts in a mosque in the Eastern region.

Recently, it executed 47 people, including several belonging to militant group Al Qaeda. Analysts say the executions were meant to discourage those with militant intentions from plotting any attacks.

http://www.gulfbusiness.com/articles/country/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-thwarts-attacks-puts-532-isil-suspects-on-trial/

 

U.S. bombs 'millions' in ISIS currency holdings

In an extremely unusual airstrike, the U.S. dropped bombs Sunday in central Mosul, Iraq, destroying a building containing huge amounts of cash ISIS was using to pay its troops and for ongoing operations, two U.S. defense officials told CNN.

The officials could not say exactly how much money was there or in what currency, but one described it as "millions."

Two 2,000-pound bombs destroyed the site quickly. But the longstanding impact may be even more significant. The officials said the U.S. plans to strike more financial targets like this one to take away ISIS's ability to function as a state-like entity.

This is a similar expansion to the target list as happened several weeks ago, when U.S. warplanes began hitting ISIS oil trucks.

The U.S. considers the Mosul strike extremely sensitive, as the building is in an area where civilians are also located, and there was a significant risk of civilian casualties.

Officials would not say how the U.S. learned of the location. But after getting intelligence about the so-called "cash collection and distribution point," U.S. aircraft and drones watched the site for days trying to determine when the fewest number of civilians would be in the area.

Because civilians were nearby during the daylight hours, and ISIS personnel were working there at night, the decision was made to strike at dawn on Sunday.

U.S. commanders had been willing to consider up to 50 civilian casualties from the airstrike due to the importance of the target. But the initial post-attack assessment indicated that perhaps five to seven people were killed.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has said it will assess all targets on a case-by-case basis and may be more willing to tolerate civilians casualties for more significant targets.

http://www.wesh.com/politics/us-bombs-millions-in-isis-currency-holdings/37376284

ISIS adopts attacks on commercial mall in eastern Baghdad

Baghdad – A statement published on the internet revealed, that the ISIS organization is responsible for the attacks that were conducted on the commercial mall in the capital Baghdad.

The statement said, “Four of the ISIS elements attacked a gathering of residents in New Baghdad area.”

Earlier today, the Ministry of Interior announced, that the security forces have controlled the terrorist attack area in New Baghdad area in eastern Baghdad, while indicated to the death of a number of terrorists.

http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/isis-adopts-attacks-on-commercial-mall-in-eastern-baghdad/

Russia providing Hezbollah with weapons in Syria: report

Hezbollah commander says Moscow hasn't put any restrictions on how group can use weapons, even against Israel

 

Russia is providing advanced weaponry to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,  The Daily Beast reported on Monday.

According to the report, two of the group's field commanders told the United States based news website, the weapons include precision ground-to-ground missiles,
long-range tactical missiles, laser guided rockets, and anti-tank weapons.

The militants, who met with The Daily Beast in the Beirut suburb of Dahiya on two separate occasions, said that the group, the Assad regime and Iran have a "relationship of complete coordination" and that Hezbollah is receiving the arms "with no strings attached."

“We are strategic allies in the Middle East right now—the Russians are our allies and give us weapons,” one of the Hezbollah officers in charge of five units in Syria told The Daily Beast.

The officer, who gave his name as Commander Bakr, said that "the intervention of the Russians made it much easier" for the group, and that the Russians rely on Hezbollah for intelligence and target selection. “Without their air force we can’t advance and they couldn’t give us air support without our information from the ground," he said.

Hezbollah Press Office/AFP
 

"A Hezbollah fighter patrols the Qalamun hills close to the Lebanese border with Syria"

Another Hezbollah commander said that the Russians are increasingly impressed with Hezbollah fighters rather than those of the Assad regime and that Moscow hasn't put any restrictions on how the group can use the weapons, including against Israel, saying that "when it comes to Israel, Hezbollah doesn’t take directions from anyone."

Nonetheless, the report added that "it is not clear that he is in a senior enough position to know what secret agreements have been made."

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel is reported to have attacked regime military bases on a number of occasions, including raids reportedly targeting Iranian rockets bound for Hezbollah.

In November, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Paris climate talks, where they agreed to deepen and strengthen military cooperation between their two countries.

Al-Manar TV/AFP
 

"An image grab taken from Hezbollah's al-Manar TV on December 21, 2015 shows Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Lebanon's militant Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, giving a televised address from an undisclosed location in Lebanon"

Netanyahu went to Moscow in September and later told reporters that an unprecedented and crucial mechanism had been established to prevent misunderstandings and accidental clashes due to Russian operations in Syria.

Also in November Israel's Defense Minister Moshe "Boogie" Ya'alon explained that Israel and Russia had made arrangements to avoid clashes over Syria, with the agreement said to include a "hotline" and information sharing.

"Under the agreements we have with the Russians, they act in accordance with their interests; we act in accordance with our interests; and the one doesn’t bother the other," he said.

http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/98816-160112-russia-providing-hezbollah-with-weapons-in-syria-report