ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The Islamic State terrorist group has lost about 30 percent of its revenues since last year due to bombings of oil sites and loss of taxpayers. It is trying to compensate by introducing new levies and taxes, a new IHS report said. “In mid-2015, the Islamic State’s [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] overall monthly revenue was around $80m,” said Ludovico Carlino, senior analyst at IHS Conflict Monitor research group. “As of March 2016, the Islamic State’s monthly revenue dropped to $56m.” Some of the drop was due to bombings of oil sites in IS-controlled areas by Russia and the US-led coalition, the report said. Its crude production dropped from 33,000 barrels a day to 21,000 barrels a day, but IHS warned that the terrorists could restore their capabilities quickly. The researchers estimate that about 43 percent of IS revenue comes from oil. The other factor was loss of territory in Iraq and Syria. The report said IS lost about 22 percent of its territory in the past 15 months, which translates

Belgium’s integration policy has caused a “cancer” within Muslim communities, many of whom “danced” after the deadly Brussels attacks last month, said the Belgian Interior Minister, blaming the government for failing to integrate migrants into society. In an interview with a Belgian newspaper, Jan Jambon said that he regretted that a “significant” proportion of the Muslim community had been “dancing” in the streets following the attacks on March 22 in which 32 innocent victims and three suicide bombers were killed, and over 300 people injured. Belgium providing most ISIS recruits per capita in Europe – UN “A significant section of the Muslim community danced when attacks took place,” Jambon told De Standaard newspaper as cited by AFP. Shocked with such reaction, the minister blamed Belgian integration policy which had failed to incorporate migrants and refugees into European society. By way of example he said that residents of the Molenbeek neighbourhood in Brussels were very belligere

Baghdad: A rallying cry to Iraqi Sunnis from former President Saddam Hussain’s top surviving aide aims to bolster the old ruling Baath party’s appeal with Sunni Muslims fearing new reprisals by Shiite militias, experts said. They said the video released on Thursday could also contain a message to Iraq’s government that former party members might help it fight Daesh if the Shiite militias are kept out of the battle. The broadcast purportedly featuring Ezzat Al Douri coincided with the anniversary of the fall of Saddam’s rule when US troops stormed Baghdad in 2003. Analysts said it seemed genuine judging by his appearance and speech. Al Douri, a wiry man with a ginger moustache, evaded capture during the 2003-11 US occupation and Iraqi and US officials accused him of organising an insurgency by Sunnis against US troops and the new Shiite led authorities in 2005-7. In a previous audio message, the former top official in Saddam’s secular Baath party urged Sunnis to join those who had “libe

Baghdad: An Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group has said it will join government forces preparing to fight Daesh for Mosul despite objections from politicians who fear this could instigate sectarian bloodshed in the mostly Sunni Muslim city. A much-touted government offensive to retake Iraq’s largest northern city two years after its seizure by Daesh militants has made a faltering start, casting doubt on the army’s ability to do so without more ground support. The campaign will require the participation of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a coalition of mostly Shiite militias, said a spokesman for Asaib Ahl Al Haq, one of its most powerful factions. “We think the battle to liberate Mosul will be huge, complex; it will be about guerrilla warfare in built-up areas, which only PMF fighters are good at ..., as forces may be fighting house to house, room to room,” the spokesman, Jawad Al Talabawi, said in an interview on Wednesday in Baghdad. In an opinion column published in the New York

A decade under the yoke of US military and years of ongoing sectarian violence in the shadow of Islamic State threat have nurtured an entire generation of young Iraqis who believe Washington is not a liberator but the prime enemy of their country. After conducting 250 face-to-face interviews in three Iraqi cities, the Arab Youth Survey has discovered that 93 percent of respondents aged between 18 to 24 years old see the US as an enemy. Only 6 percent of young Iraqis considered it to be an ally, while one percent could not decide. Hardly surprising that US is seen as the prime source of evil in the country, considering that the young generation has been raised in war and chaos that followed the American invasion of the country in 2003. And while the bulk of US forces left the country in December 2011, they were quick to return in June 2014, to help it defend against the Islamic State. Since the invasion which led to destruction of state institutions and the rise of lawlessness up to

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Saudi Arabia used US-made cluster bombs in two recent airstrikes on a busy market in Yemen, which killed scores of civilians. The March 15 bombing targeting the northwestern town of Mastaba marked the second-deadliest airstrike conducted by the Saudi campaign since it began its war in March 2015. The strike also wounded at least 47 people and left charred bodies lying next to flour sacks and twisted metal. Human Rights Watch said Thursday its investigators traveled to the town in Yemen's Hajjah province the day after the attack and listed the names of 97 civilians killed in the strike, including 25 children. The team said that another 10 bodies were burned beyond recognition, bringing the total number of victims to 107. They found fragments of a GBU-31 satellite-guided bomb as well as its guidance equipment supplied by the US, matching an earlier report by British television channel ITV. “One of the deadliest strikes against civilians in Yemen’s

Canada’s Liberal government has refused to cancel a controversial contract to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia despite Riyadh’s human rights violations, particularly in the war against Yemen. Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion signed off on export permits for the USD 15-billion sale of light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia on Friday. The contract had been initially signed under the previous Conservative government in February 2014. Dion, which has come under fire over authorizing the sales, told reporters on Wednesday that Canada’s credibility would be harmed if it didn’t honor the contract. “Credibility matters. The Liberal Party committed during the 2015 election campaign to respect the previously agreed contract… Our government will not weaken the credibility of the signature of the government of Canada,” Dion said. He also claimed that canceling the agreement would impede Canada’s efforts to convince Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record. “If we drop the contract, we wi

Germany has unveiled a new package of counter-terror measures amid rising threats of terrorist attacks across Europe. The leaders of Germany's ruling coalition parties unveiled the package at a meeting on Wednesday. The measures include granting more powers to law enforcement to deploy undercover agents, as well as empowering Germany's intelligence agencies to exchange information with foreign partners under clear conditions, Reuters reported. The announcement comes as Europe has faced a wave of terror attacks in recent months, including the Brussels bombings in March and the Paris attacks in November 2015, which were both claimed by the Takfir Daesh terrorist group. In March, German authorities stepped up security measures at airports, train stations, and the country's borders with Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. On April 5, Daesh released a video claiming that it may launch more attacks in European countries. The terror group named London, Berlin and Rome