ISIS Isn't Alone: Khorasan Group May Pose Bigger Threat to U.S!

When U.S fighter jets pounded ISIS targets in Syria overnight, they also carried out a separate mission targeting what the Pentagon said were “seasoned al Qaeda veterans” allegedly plotting an attack on American interests.

Little is known about those militants — dubbed the “Khorasan group.” But in the week since their name hit the international stage, they’ve been billed as potentially an even bigger threat to the U.S. than ISIS. Here’s a look at what we know about the group whose existence was not publicly acknowledged until last week.

Intelligence analysts say Khorasan refers to battle-hardened al Qaeda fighters who have travelled from Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere to Syria. Beyond that, accounts differ.

U.S. Central Command said the group was using civil war-ravaged Syria as a haven from which to plot attacks, build and test roadside bombs and recruit Westerners to carry out operations.

While Khorasan has been in operating in Syria for over a year, their attention has been focused beyond that country’s borders.

“They’re in Syria but they’re not really fighting in Syria,” said Michael Leiter, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center and now an NBC News analyst. “They’re using it as a place to find Western recruits.”

The core group is believed to be small - probably no more than 100, according to Leiter. They have one main mission: To attack Western targets.

Al Qaeda’s recognized affiliate in Syria is Jabhat al-Nusra – but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for Khorasan. Khorasan’s motivations are “very much in line” with traditional al Qaeda and it maintains close relations with Nusra, according to Leiter.

Intelligence analysts acknowledge disagreement over how separate or linked Nusra is to Khorasan. Still, the relationship appears to be symbiotic — Nusra focuses on internal operations within Syria, while Khorasan plans for external operations.

Director of National Intelligence James Klapper last week said that Khorasan poses a threat to the U.S. equal to that of ISIS, according to The Associated Press.

“Khorasan is less of a threat to the region and more of a threat to the U.S. homeland than ISIS,” Leiter said. "Unlike ISIS, the Khorasan group’s focus is not on overthrowing the Assad regime. These are core al Qaeda operatives who ... are taking advantage of the Syrian conflict to advance attacks against Western interests.”

Khorasan has been actively recruiting Westerners for plots against American and European interests, according to intelligence officials.

"They want to get Western recruits, with Western passports, to attack the West,” Leiter explained.

Fears are high that the group could exploit and capitalize on ties to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) – and that affiliate’s sophisticated bomb makers.

Khorasan militants have been working with bomb makers from al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate to test new ways to slip explosives past airport security, The Associated Press recently reported, citing classified U.S. intelligence assessments.

The AP said that the recent Transportation Security Administration ban on uncharged cellphones arose because of information that al Qaeda was working with Khorasan.

A number of al Qaeda all-stars are believed to have migrated to Syria and put down Khorasan’s roots – but one name stands out: Muhsin al-Fadhli, a designated terrorist and apparent 9/11 insider.

The U.S. has a $7 million bounty on Al-Fadhli’s head – just shy of the $10 million offered for the capture of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghadi.

Al-Fadhli “was among the few trusted al Qaeda leaders who received advance notification that terrorists would strike the United States on September 11, 2001,” according to the State Department. 

It describes al-Fadhli as a veteran al Qaeda operative “who has been active for years.” Al-Fadhli is a wanted man in Kuwait and also on Saudi Arabia’s most-wanted list in connection with a series of terror attacks, according to the State Department.

Born in Kuwait, al-Fadhli was first designated a terrorist by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2005 - deemed an al Qaeda leader in the Gulf and accused of supporting Iraq-based fighters in attacks against U.S. forces there. The State Department has later called al-Fadhli as “facilitator and financier” for al Qaeda who moved fighters and funds through Iran on behalf of the terrorist organization. Specifically, the State Department said he works to move fighters and funds through Turkey to back al Qaeda-linked groups in Syria – plus leverages his “extensive network of Kuwaiti jihadist donors” to send money to Syria.

Al-Fadhli also allegedly has helped moved fighters to North Africa and Europe, according to the State Department — underscoring the concern of European nations that foreign fighters will mount attacks on their home soil.

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The Nigerian Tragedy That Shook South Africa Into Gear!

It wasn’t so long ago that a hallucinating, schizophrenic interpreter communicated with angels while sharing a stage with US President Barack Obama (and many other global leaders) during what was meant to be a dignified state-run memorial service for South Africa’s beloved icon, Nelson Mandela.

Memories of how a festive wedding party landed at one of the country’s military airbases and crossed the border without a hint of a Home Affairs official still lingers as the scapegoats fight back.

The chickens at Nkandla scamper about, a stone throw away from the firepool, amphitheatre and underground bunker, which cost the taxpayers a cool quarter of a billion rand.

There’s an e-tolling system that nobody wants, the spy-tapes which have reached near-mystic status and so many poor appointments in the police, the National Prosecuting Authority, SABC, Eskom and countless other organisations that nobody can keep count any more.

To be polite: South Africa’s government and the man who leads it have not exactly covered themselves in glory over the past few years.

Then, one of the buildings at TB Joshua’s church in Lagos came crumbling down.

As things stand, 84 South Africans were allegedly crushed to death and at least 26 were reportedly injured or maimed (amongst these several children who are now orphans). The total death toll of the disaster is reportedly at 115.

What happened next is important.

On Tuesday night, exactly a week ago, President Jacob Zuma gave a solemn address to the nation about the disaster. Aside from Nelson Mandela’s death, can you remember the last time he did that?

Zuma may have overdosed a little on words like “compatriots” and “calamity”, but his address could not be faulted. It was exactly what the moment required.

Government then kicked into gear and formed various task teams, command centres and helplines. Officials were dispatched to help families at the airport. Experts in forensics were rounded up to assist identify bodies in Nigeria. An “assessment team” was sent to Lagos to do reconnaissance.

Almost daily (if not daily), minister Jeff Radebe gathered journalists to give detailed updates on progress, even when there was little to report. Even on a Sunday night.

A medical evacuation team was put together and a special flight chartered. This mission (a diplomatic miracle, by the sounds of it) flew out to bring 25 South Africans home. Those flown back were tracked down in various hospitals. Some had lost limbs. Others lost parents. One survivor seems not to have lost his faith, demanding to stay behind. Simply put: we went and we fetched our own and reunited them with their families.

When the flight returned on Monday morning, government set up special areas at the Swartkop air force base for reporters to witness (film and photograph) the arrival. Senior officials were at the scene to explain the process. A convoy of ambulances rushed the injured to hospital. It was a well-planned and -executed mission. It was clear that serious thought had gone into every detail.

Like so many moments that have come before it, this one united people by making them feel proud of what was achieved. Given the horror of the collapse, this moment will probably not stand out in history. But it was a good show of how much can be done – under difficult circumstances – if there’s political will.

One could argue, of course, that this was an international tragedy and it’s fairly easy for South Africa to come out shining. To rally people around it and to capitalise. There was no local scandal that needed to be covered up. No calls for heads to roll, letters to the Public Protector, court cases or angry DA statements.

To coordinate a response of this nature is very different to governing a country. To firing up an economy, which is currently in a coma. To building houses or bringing down stubborn levels of violent crime. To getting local municipalities to work or cracking down on corruption. To keeping the lights on. All that is true. But the way that government handled the building collapse in Nigeria illustrates so clearly how a state can, and should function – like a well-oiled machine, with a few glitches along the way.  It should be a slick bullet train, not a rusty steam train crashing from one scandal to the next, threatening to derail, with a driver who has lost the trust of his passengers.

The problem with doing something well is that it sets a standard. Or, at the very least, it shows people that it can be done. If anything, government should learn a few key lessons from the past week: Pick strong people to lead, get departments working together, go for less obfuscation, more communication and, finally, remember that the more honest you are about a situation, the less chance you’ll be caught lying. People are not idiots; they can appreciate a job well done.

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Boko Haram Leader Shekau 'Alive and Well'!

According to reports, Ahmed Salkida, a Dubai-based Nigerian journalist who reportedly maintains communication with some leaders of the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram, claimed today that the sect's leader, Abubakar Shekau, is alive and well. Mr. Salkida denied reports asserting that Nigerian troops had killed the mercurial and fiendish Shekau, the speaker and voice in numerous videos released by Boko Haram.

In an alleged tweet earlier today, Mr. Salkida also dismissed media reports that the Nigerian government was negotiating with Boko Haram for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in mid-April by Boko Haram militants in Chibok, Borno State. 

It was gathered that the reporter's tweet also described as untrue reports that the International Red Cross (IRC) was working on a deal that would persuade Boko Haram to free the abducted Chibok schoolgirls in exchange for the release of detained Islamist insurgents in the custody of Nigerian security agencies.

"Mark my words, I have it on authority that Shekau is well & alive, the picture going round is NOT the person who torments us with his group"

Earlier today, a source revealed that the person whose dead body is seen in photos circulating in news reports was not Shekau but one "Mohammed Bashir".

Our intelligence source stated that the dead Islamist figure, who bore a striking semblance to Mr. Shekau, was indeed a look-alike who appeared in videos released by the Islamist sect.

Mr. Salkida's tweet appeared to confirm that the Boko Haram "officer" killed by Nigerian soldiers in Konduga was a different person from Mr. Shekau. In fact, Nigerian security officials have maintained for months that Mr. Shekau was dead, apparently killed by his own disaffected lieutenants in an internal rivalry for control of the terrorist organization. "Mark my words: I have it on authority that Shekau is well & alive, the picture going round is NOT the person who torments us with his group"

However, Salkida sent out another tweet today which appeared to cast doubt on the fact that Shekau indeed had a double. "So Shekau has a double? So it was his double I met during the failed attempt to negotiate an end to the plight of #chibokgirls? Oh #Nigeria"

A confidential debriefing document by the Nigerian army obtained last week by SaharaReporters also acknowledged that Mr. Shekau stayed permanently in his holdout in Sambisa Forest and was not in the habit of venturing out to battles. Item "R" of the document stated, "Shekau has his wife and 2 children in Sambisa Forest. He is Kanuri, he speaks Hausa and he does not travel."

Meanwhile, a security source said that there was evidence of a growing frustration among insurgent fighters and a simmering power struggle between some of the sect's top figures. He disclosed that some of the insurgents who surrendered to Nigerian troops last week in Konduga have told army interrogators that they decided to give up after their commander executed two of their leaders who led the failed attack on Konduga. 

The source confirmed that the insurgents, who are being kept in one of the barracks in Maiduguri, told interrogators that they fled from a camp near Bama after their commander shot dead two insurgent field officers "for losing valuable weapons to infidels." He added that the surrendering militants claimed they were reluctant and small-time fighters who were recently recruited from towns and villagers taken by Boko Haram.

The insurgents' foiled attempt to seize Konduga, which was a first step in their plan to attack the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, is being seen as a possible turning point in the war between the insurgents and increasingly confident Nigerian soldiers. Nigerian troops killed hundreds of insurgents in the battle for Konduga and also seized an armored tank and several vehicles from the Boko Haram fighters. Incidentally, Boko Haram insurgents had originally captured thetank and vehicles from the Nigerian army in previous battles.

For close to two weeks, the insurgents have not been able to reproduce their earlier streak of victories over Nigerian troops. Instead, they have been routed in Konduga and driven out of Baza in Adamawa State.

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Health Alert- Deplorable Condition Of A Popular Bus Terminus In Lagos!

The pictures in this story shows the very unhealthy state of a popular bus terminus in the heart of Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria. 

                                      

Passengers are meant to queue in this environment, perceiving the stench of urine and feaces that litters the environment....

for as long as it takes for a bus to show up and get loaded.....

European Union Seeks 60 Billion Euros Investment for Nigeria!

The European Union (EU) weekend announced that it was working with Nigeria to shop for 60 billion Euros investment flow into the giant West African economy, towards bridging the huge gap in business and infrastructure.

Ambassador of the EU to Nigeria and the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), Michel Arrion, who dropped the hint, stated that, to help Nigeria attain the massive leap in foreign investment inflow, the EU will be channeling most of the 600 million Euros earmarked for the country for the next five years, towards developing a favourable business environments in the various economics sectors, in order to make the country attractive to ready European investment.

According to him, "There is high interest being shown by serious European investors in the Nigerian economy because the size and growth rate of the economy is very good but the operating environment in most sectors need to be fine tuned and that is what we will spend a good portion our budget addressing, so that this private funds can flow in from the EU into Nigeria"

He said this objective is one of the main reasons for the EU-Nigeria third business summit, which starts today in Lagos.

Arrion said, the summit is expected to provide a platform for private sector participants to gather essential market information, identify business opportunities and connect key players to viable business opportunities obtainable in Nigeria and European countries.

He said ‎ this year's event with the theme, "Time for Private Sector", aims to consolidate on the gains of the 2012 and 2013 editions, and also focusing on specific economic agenda of EU, Nigeria and ECOWAS to identify the role of private sector support.

According to him, the EU is currently implementing, together with Nigeria, a support strategy and also targeting health, nutrition and resilience, sustainable energy and access to electricity, as well as governance and rule of law. He stated that at regional levels, the EU's support will focus on regional integration which will include regional infrastructure, resilience peace and security.

"In critical areas, such as trade-related infrastructure, electricity, health and nutrition, the EU is calling for a closer partnership with the private sector, in line with the conclusions of the 4th EU-Africa summit held in Brussels in April 2014 and the road map 2014-2017, which tasks the EU and African countries to promote private-sector led responsible investment," he added.

According to Arrion, the private sector's contribution will be sought at all stages, starting from programming, down to implementation of EU funded projects and throughout its overall engagement with Nigeria and ECOWAS. This move, he said, is in line with the objectives of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) endorsed by ECOWAS Heads of State in Accra earlier this year.

"Though Nigeria maintains a positive trade balance with the EU and the EU remains the biggest market for both oil and non-oil exports, it is imperative to address the EU-Nigeria relation towards a more diversified composition and a strengthened ECOWAS regional market. The EPA will be a critical instrument in achieving these goals," he said.

He noted that Nigeria is no doubt central to the growth of the continent, adding that the economy has continued to grow at an average of seven per cent over the last 10 years attributing the growth to be driven by the non-oil sector of the economy. Furthermore, he said, the recent GDP rebasing exercise has propelled Nigeria to become the largest economy in Africa, maintaining that the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) outperformed most capital markets in 2013.

"Your banking sector has remained stable after the 2009 crisis, FDI flows and remittances from the diaspora remain significant. These positive indicators point to an increased global confidence in the Nigerian economy in response to ongoing reforms," the ambassador said.

Arrion pointed out that the relationship of the European Union with Nigeria is broad and deep, saying that Nigeria being one of the biggest diaspora communities in Europe is also one of the most frequent destinations of European investment and businessmen in Africa. He added that EU is Nigeria's largest trading partner accounting for 35.4 per cent of its exports worth 82.4 billion Euros and 30 per cent of its imports worth 43.4 billion Euros.

"Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) stock by EU countries in Nigeria grew from N5.3 trillion in 2011 to N5.7 trillion in 2012. In 2013 alone, the total EU-Nigeria trade stood at N8.5 trillion. EU imports from Nigeria were valued at N6 trillion while EU exports to Nigeria stood at N2.5 trillion," Arrion stressed.

Source: This Day news

National Assembly to Probe Egypt Air for Dehumanising Nigerian Student, Tearing His Passport!

Chairman House Committee on Diaspora, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa has vowed to get to the roots of how a 17- year- old Nigerian medical student based in Ukraine, Master Joshua Kunle Abdulazeez was wrongfully deported and dehumanised by the Egyptian authorities last August.

Apparently disturbed by the young man's narrative of how he was traumatised, starved for four days, his Nigerian passport torn to shreds in last Saturday's Vanguard, Dabiri-Erewa vowed that "we will invite all the parties involved to the House to explain why a 17 year old boy should go through such a trauma for no fault of his".

Said she: "Vanguard is a credible newspaper but we will still hear their own side of the matter and ensure that justice is appropriately delivered.

"I've always warned Nigerian parents in different fora to beware of foreign universities because if you compare the cost of private universities here, it is almost the same".

"Although some like the university of Legon and a few others are well organised, it is still better to try our private universities.

"We've had several cases where Nigerian students are killed in the premises of some foreign universities and not even an ordinary condolence letter was written to families of the victims.

" A case in point is that of a Cyprus university where a Nigerian student was killed last year and the school authority did not bother to send a condolence letter to the family of the young man.

"We had to stop Cyprus from further recruitment of Nigerian students as a warning to other countries who come here to scout for students.

"But this case of Abdulazeez would not be treated with kid gloves, like I said earlier we must get to the bottom of this case.

"And to be candid, not until our authorities here start practicing the doctrine of citizens supremacy, this trend may just continue.

"Recently, immediately after Patrick Sawyer imported Ebola into our shores, a Nigerian family traveled all the way to Srilanka to attend a wedding ceremony, they were all deported without undergoing any test.

"It is rather unfortunate as some of the family members came all the way from Britain, the US and other parts of the world to attend the wedding of a family member but because they were Nigerians they were ridiculously ridiculed.

"This trend had to stop but the bodies involved in the fight against such dehumanisation and maltreatment meted to Nigerians are not funded, so what do you expect?, she wondered.

"Nigerian students in Eastern Europe too go through unnecessary stress particularly those in Russia. You won't believe it, they beg fellow students from Liberia and Ghana for survival.

"Some even beg in supermarkets to survive because they pay high fees and even pay as much as $300 dollars to register courses at the beginning of a session.

"What about Nigerians rotting in Brazilian, Malaysian and Chinese jail houses without fair trial?

"Just last month, the son of an NTA staff was sentenced to death without fair trial and several others that are not reported in the media.

"The issue here is how long will Nigerians continue to suffer this malady that has remained largely unabated".

Background:

A Nigerian medical student returning to school in Ukraine, Joshua Kunle Abdulazeez in last Saturday Vanguard, gave an account of how he nearly died at the hands of Egypt Air officials who wrongly routed him to Moldova, never gave him food for days and called him bloody Nigerian before deporting him back to Lagos

The student who is lucky to be alive said on Friday, August 15, 2014 my mother and I went to Egypt Air head office at 22B Idowu Taylor Street, Victoria Island, Lagos to book a return ticket for me to go back to school to continue my studies at Dnepropetrovsk Medical Academy, Dnepropetrovsk Ukraine. This was about 11:15 am.

On entering the Egypt air office we met Mr. Tony Nzan on counter 1 to attend to us and we asked to book a ticket to Kiev, Ukraine. Mr. Tony Nzan explained to us the itinerary for the flight going to Ukraine after which we went to the bank to withdraw money and returned to pay for the ticket and obtained two printouts, so that my mother could have my return itinerary from Kiev next year.

We reviewed the ticket itinerary before leaving Egypt air's office and immediately observed that the airport code indicated on it was different from what we were familiar with, having traveled to Kiev before. The ticket indicated an unfamiliar airport code.

We immediately brought this discovery to another ticketing officer's attention who was seated at Counter 2, as we were informed that his colleague, Mr. Nzan, had stepped out of the office. This ticketing officer restated that the ticket was full economy and for Kiev, Ukraine with all the segments confirmed. However, we remained unconvinced, given that our prior experience indicated that the airport code for Kiev, Ukraine would usually read "KBP".

Shekau Impostor Likely Killed!

Information revealed that troops might have killed a man they believe had been masquerading as Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau during a fierce fighting in Konduga, Borno State last week.

A statement from PRNigeria, an independent public relations agency that does consultancy work for the security agencies, said there was strong resemblance between the man killed and the one making video appearances in the name of Shekau.

"During a desperate attempt to capture Konduga in their delusion to eventually marching on and capturing Maiduguri, the man who had been mimicking late Abubakar Shekau in recent videos might have been finally killed," the statement said.

It quoted senior military and intelligence sources as saying the man was killed on September 17, 2014.

PRNigeria agency said cited as possible evidence that man killed was Shekau impostor to include "his facial marks, beards and teeth apart from the recovery by the Nigerian troops of some of the Armoured vehicles and Hilux jeeps that had featured in previous videos of the prime suspect."

Discretion advised:

It added that intelligence sources said the suspected demise of the Boko Haram leader is responsible for the scattering of the sect members in different locations in neighbouring countries, especially in Cameroon.

But they cautioned that "the process of confirming that the dead body we have is the same as that character who has been posing as Shekau is ongoing. He is definitely a prominent terrorist commander. I don't want to say anything about this yet please."

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