Iran Warns US: We Have Even More Embarrassing Footage of Your Captured Sailors

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The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy said Monday that if the U.S. seeks to humiliate Iran, the IRGC would release footage of ten U.S. sailors detained last month that is much more embarrassing than images released earlier.

Addressing Iranian lawmakers a day after being awarded a medal by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the Jan. 12-13 incident in the Persian Gulf, Sardar Fadavi also said his personnel had obtained information from the U.S. sailors’ laptops and phones.

“We have extracted extensive information from their laptops and cell phones,” the state-owned Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying, adding that the material could be made public.

(Listen to an expert analysis of Iran’s action, starting at 6:08 below)

A U.S. Navy investigation is underway. Earlier, U.S. Central Command said that when Iran released the sailors and boats, “all weapons, ammunition and communication gear are accounted for minus two SIM cards that appear to have been removed from two handheld satellite phones.”

In his address in parliament, Fadavi also warned that the IRGC had much more footage of the incident than the material it released earlier – which showed the sailors kneeling on the deck at gunpoint, later relaxing and eating, and one of them apologizing for unintentionally entering Iranian waters. (Read more from “Iran Warns US: We Have Even More Embarrassing Footage of Your Captured Sailors” HERE)

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Children Bombed, Burned Alive by Islamists in Nigeria and Syria

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By CBN News. Islamic terrorists have struck again. This past weekend, Boko Haram burned children alive in Nigeria, and ISIS bombed school children in Syria.

Homes were seen smoldering and in piles of ashes in the village of Dalori, Nigeria following a Boko Haram rampage Saturday night.

For four hours, heavily armed gunmen and at least three suicide bombers attacked. They set much of the village afire. Children let out bloodcurdling screams as they burned alive in their huts . . .

Charred corpses and bullet-ridden bodies were counted Sunday. At least 86 people were killed and another 62 people injured in the attack. Three females were among the suicide bombers. (Read more from “Children Bombed, Burned Alive by Islamists in Nigeria and Syria” HERE)

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North Carolina Teen, 19, Charged With Supporting ISIS Is Now Also Charged With His Elderly Neighbor’s Murder

By Clemence Michallon and Associated Press. A North Carolina teen accused of planning a terrorist attack in support of ISIS has also been charged with killing his neighbor.

Justin Nojan Sullivan, 19, of Morganton, North Carolina, took a rifle from his father’s gun cabinet and used it to kill his 74-year-old neighbor, prosecutors said.

The teenager, who is currently in federal custody awaiting trial, was arrested over the summer and accused of planning terrorist killings in the US.

Sullivan is facing seven charges related to terrorism, including attempting to provide material support to ISIS, several firearm charges and trying to hire someone to kill his parents, a federal indictment unsealed today showed. (Read more from “North Carolina Teen, 19, Charged With Supporting ISIS Is Now Also Charged With His Elderly Neighbor’s Murder” HERE)

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Americans Not Believed Among Militants Detained by Saudis

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By Reuters. U.S. officials said on Sunday they did not believe nine U.S. citizens were among 33 suspects detained on terrorism charges in Saudi Arabia over the past week, as reported by a Saudi newspaper.

The English-language daily Saudi Gazette, citing an unnamed source, on Sunday reported that four Americans were detained last Monday, followed by another five in the following days. Saudi authorities also detained 14 Saudis, three Yemenis, two Syrians, an Indonesian, a Filipino, a United Arab Emirates citizen, a Palestinian and a citizen of Kazakhstan, the report said.

Six U.S. officials told Reuters that the U.S. government could not confirm that any Americans were among the 33 suspects detained.

However, two officials said U.S. authorities were still checking names against databases. Saudi authorities were also investigating the citizenship of those detained, one of the officials said.

None of the U.S. officials was authorized to speak publicly, and the U.S. embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Read more from “Americans Not Believed Among Militants Detained by Saudis” HERE)

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Saudi Police Arrest 9 American ‘Terror’ Suspects

By AFP. Saudi authorities have arrested nine American citizens among 33 “terror” suspects rounded up over the past week, the Saudi Gazette newspaper reported Sunday.

Four Americans were arrested last Monday and five others over the past four days, the paper reported, citing an unidentified source.

Washington, a strong ally of Riyadh, confirmed it was aware of the report but declined to elaborate.

A US State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP: “We are aware of reports alleging that several US citizens were detained in Saudi Arabia.

“The Department of State takes its obligation to assist US citizens abroad seriously. Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.” (Read more from “Saudi Police Arrest 9 American ‘Terror’ Suspects” HERE)

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Is a Secret Sniper Killing off ISIS’s High Command in Libya?

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As befits all the best practitioners of his shadowy trade, no-one is quite sure whether he is one man or many, or even simply an urban legend.

But after a string of assassinations of its local henchmen, the Islamic State’s new “Caliphate” in the Libyan city of Sirte is abuzz with talk that an anti-Isil sniper is at work.

In recent weeks, no fewer than three Isil commanders in Sirte have been shot dead from long range, according to local media.

The killings – reported to be the work of a sniper who honed his skills in Libya’s uprising against Colonel Gaddafi – are said to have sowed panic among Isil’s forces in the city, who have carried a string of arrests and executions in a bid to track down the culprit.

The Sirte assassin’s most recent casualty, according to social media reports from Sirte, was Abdullah Hamad Al-Ansari, an Isil commander from southern Libyan city of Obari, who was shot dead on January 23 as he left a city centre mosque. (Read more from “Is a Secret Sniper Killing off ISIS’s High Command in Libya?” HERE)

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Obama Joins Israel Boycott, Labels West Bank Goods

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In a step towards joining an Israel boycott, the U.S. is now requiring goods originating from the West Bank (also known as Judea and Samaria) to be labeled separately from products from the rest of Israel, following the European Union’s crackdown on products from the disputed territories.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has issued new mandates requiring that West Bank products not be marked “Israel,” citing a notice from the year 1997 that offers such instructions.

The memo from DHS, titled, “West Bank Country of Origin Marking Requirements,” reads:

“The purpose of this message is to provide guidance to the trade community regarding the country of origin marking requirements for goods that are manufactured in the West Bank.”

According to the instructions, “It is not acceptable to mark” goods from the West Bank as having been from “Israel,” “Made in Israel,” or from “Occupied Territories-Israel.” (Read more from “Obama Joins Israel Boycott, Labels West Bank Goods” HERE)

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Doubts That the Holocaust Occurred

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By Jerusalem Post. Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday once again repeated provocative assertions about the Holocaust, defying the world on a day that it paused to remember the victims of the Nazi genocide in Europe.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei released a video in which he said America “assists the fake Zionist regime” and that when “they say in their slogans that they are opposed to terrorism and ISIS they are lying,” according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Of the Holocaust, Khamenei remarked: “It is not clear whether the core of this matter is a reality or not. Even if it is a reality, it is not clear how it happened…This is the ignorance that exists in today’s world. We should be awake. [Muslims] should know that we can stand up against the ignorance.” “Who assists the fake Zionist regime,” Khamenei says in the video. “Who supports them, who clears the road for them, who stands behind them.”

“It is Western powers headed by America that are doing so. This is while they say in their slogans that they are opposed to terrorism and ISIS.” (Read more from “Iran’s Supreme Leader Doubts That the Holocaust Occurred” HERE)

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Obama Says ‘We Are All Jews’

By Eric Cortellessa. US President Barack Obama joined members of the American Jewish community Wednesday night for a ceremony honoring four individuals who were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, an honorific bestowed by the State of Israel on non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews in the Holocaust.

The ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Washington was the first of its kind to be held in the United States, and thus the first to be addressed by a sitting US president. Held on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 71st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Obama said the unusual gathering was to “make real the call to ‘never forget.’”

Mere months after a tumultuous showdown with Israel’s government over his signature foreign policy priority — an Iranian nuclear accord that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted as a “historic mistake” that poses an existential threat to Israel — Obama sought to showcase the US’s enduring ties with the Jewish state, undergirded by a genuine solicitude for the Jewish people.

“We are all Jews,” he said, paying homage to one of the four individuals being honored.

Americans Roddie Edmonds of Knoxville, Tennessee; Lois Gunden of Goshen, Indiana; and Polish citizens Walery and Maryla Zbijewski of Warsaw were the four recognized by Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust remembrance and education organization. (Read more from “Obama Says ‘We Are All Jews'” HERE)

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French Cops Run From Migrants Screaming: ‘We Are Muslim, We Want to Go to UK!’ [+video]

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Video footage reveals the moment migrants and anarchists marching through the center of Calais on Saturday broke through police lines and stormed the city’s port which connects France to the United Kingdom.

The French government is adamant that current security provisions in the area are adequate and effective, yet the video shows riot police backing away from a crowd of migrants chanting “UK, UK”, before turning and running. One migrant angrily screams at the camera: “We are people. We are Muslim! We want to go to UK!”

The migrants were then able to break through security fencing; 50 made it all the way onto the UK-bound ferry Spirit of Britain.

It is not clear from the video how many migrants broke through the police line and marched into the port, but it is apparent that initial reports of 150 were an underestimate. Later reports suggested that anywhere between 500 and 1000 migrants made it within port boundaries, although only 50 succeeded in boarding the UK bound ferry Pride of Britain.

However, the new video, which was filmed from within the migrant crowd, sheds new light on how the migrants were able to access the port in the first place. It shows a line of around 20 riot police blocking access to Rue de la Mer, which leads to the port. A large contingent of migrants and anarchists walk up to the police line chanting “UK, UK”. (Read more from “French Cops Run From Migrants Screaming: ‘We Are Muslim, We Want to Go to UK!'” HERE)

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North Korea ‘Preparing Long-Range Missile Launch Next Week’

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North Korea may be preparing to launch a long-range missile as soon as in a week, Japan’s Kyodo news agency has reported, citing an unnamed Japanese government official.

The official cited signs of possible preparations for a missile launch based on analysis of satellite imagery.

North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan 6., which is expected to result in fresh sanctions at the United Nations.

Earlier on Wednesday, John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said that a nuclear-armed North Korea poses an “overt threat, a declared threat to the world”.

Washington is pushing for a strong United Nations response to the North’s latest atomic blast – which Pyongyang said was a miniaturised hydrogen bomb, a claim largely dismissed by experts – with enhanced sanctions. (Read more from “North Korea ‘Preparing Long-Range Missile Launch Next Week'” HERE)

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Benjamin Netanyahu Marks Holocaust Remembrance Day

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that “in Europe and elsewhere, Jews are once again being targeted just for being Jews.”

Netanyahu’s statement came Tuesday on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day. He emphasized that “the memory of the Holocaust is more important today than ever.”

“Preserving the memory of the Holocaust is more important today than ever for in this period of resurgent and sometimes violent anti-Semitism,” Netanyahu wrote, “it is commemorations like this that remind us all where the oldest and most enduring hatred can lead.”

“Unfortunately, in Europe and elsewhere, Jews are once again being targeted just for being Jews. Around the world, Jewish communities are increasingly living in fear,” Netanyahu continued. “We see anti-Semitism directed against individual Jews, and we also see this hatred directed against the collective Jew, against the Jewish state. Israel is targeted with the same slurs and the same libels that were leveled against the Jewish people since time immemorial.

“Islamic extremists incorporate the most outrageous anti-Semitism into their murderous doctrines. We see this in Gaza; we see it in Raqqa; we see it in Tehran. And it’s not just Islamic extremists in the Middle East and Europe,” Netanyahu argued. “Even respected Western opinion leaders have become afflicted with hatred for the Jewish people and the Jewish state.” (Read more from “Benjamin Netanyahu Marks Holocaust Remembrance Day” HERE)

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ISIS Has Whole Fake Passport ‘Industry,’ Official Says

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By Brian Ross, Michele McPhee and Lee Ferran. The terror group ISIS has created a whole “industry” out of the production of fake passports, a high-level French official said today.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters that through ISIS’s operations in Syria, Iraq and Libya, the group has acquired blank passports and has now set up a “real fake document industry.” Cazeneuve made the statement following a meeting with top European officials where he proposed setting up a new task force to help nab people attempting to come into the European Union with fake papers.

Last month ABC News reported that U.S. intelligence suspected ISIS had acquired thousands of blank Syrian passports and at least one passport printing machine after taking over government offices in Syria. Officials from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said in a 17-page report that the terror group has likely been able to print legitimate-looking Syrian passports since at least last summer – and raised the possibility that people using the forged documents have snuck into America.

“Since more than 17 months [have] passed since Raqqa and Deir ez-Zour fell to ISIS, it is possible that individuals from Syria with passports ‘issued’ in these ISIS-controlled cities or who had passport blanks, may have traveled to the U.S.,” the HSI report says. (Read more from “ISIS Has Whole Fake Passport ‘Industry,’ Official Says” HERE)

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Islamic State Plans Attacks From Camps in Europe, Europol Says

By James G. Neuger. Islamic State has set up a special operations command to mastermind more terrorist attacks on “soft targets” in Europe, drawing on training camps on European soil and with France as the most at-risk country, the European Union’s crime-fighting agency said.

The model is the simultaneous shootings at several locations in Paris in November which killed 130, with most of the bloodshed at a concert hall in eastern Paris, said the agency, known as Europol.

It is possible that similar operations “are currently being planned and prepared,” Europol said in a report released on Monday during a meeting of EU interior ministers in Amsterdam. “The wide range of possible targets in combination with an opportunistic approach of locally based groups creates a huge variety of possible scenarios for future terrorist events.” (Read more from “Islamic State Plans Attacks From Camps in Europe, Europol Says” HERE)

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