• French family with 4 children kidnapped by Islamists in Africa

    AFP - Getty Images / Thanassis Stavrakis

    French President Francois Hollande speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at Maximos mansion in Athens on Tuesday. The president said the seven French nationals kidnapped in Cameron were been taken by a "terrorist group that we know and that is in Nigeria."

    By Bate Felix and Jean-Baptiste Vey, Reuters

    Gunmen from Nigeria kidnapped a French family that included four children on Tuesday in northern Cameroon near the border with Nigeria, French President Francois Hollande said.

    They were apparently tourists, he said.

    The risk of attacks on French nationals and interests in Africa has risen since France sent forces into Mali last month to help oust Islamist rebels occupying the country's north.

    "They have been taken by a terrorist group that we know and that is in Nigeria," Hollande told reporters during a visit to Greece. Islamist militants in northern Nigeria now pose the biggest threat to stability in Africa's top oil-producing state.

    Radio France International had earlier reported the kidnapping, saying that the seven people were nabbed by armed men on motorbikes and were being taken towards Nigeria.

    Western governments have grown concerned that Nigeria's radical Islamists may link up with groups elsewhere in the region, particularly al-Qaida's North African wing, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, given the conflict in nearby Mali.

    The seven tourists were abducted at around 7 a.m. in a village about six miles from the Nigerian border near the Waza national park and Lake Chad in the extreme north of Cameroon where Westerners often go for holidays.

    It was the first case of foreigners being seized in the mostly Muslim north of Cameroon, a former French colony.

    "I see the hand of (Nigerian militants) Boko Haram in that part of Cameroon. France is in Mali, and it will continue until its mission is completed," Hollande said.

    France intervened in Mali last month when Islamist rebels, after hijacking a rebellion by ethnic Tuareg MNLA separatists to seize control of the north in the confusion following a military coup, pushed south towards the capital, Bamako.

    Eight French citizens are already being held in West Africa's Sahel region by al-Qaida-affiliated groups.

    Cameroon Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said he could not immediately confirm the kidnapping report.

    On Sunday, seven foreigners were snatched from the compound of Lebanese construction company Setraco in northern Nigeria's Bauchi state, and al-Qaida-linked Ansaru took responsibility.

    Northern Nigeria is increasingly afflicted by attacks and kidnappings by Islamist militants. Ansaru, which rose to prominence only in recent months, has also claimed the abduction in December of a French national who is still missing.

    An Ansaru statement said kidnappings were driven by "the transgression and atrocities done to the religion of Allah by the European countries in many places, such as Afghanistan and Mali."

    Related: 

    European Union approves €20 million in aid for Mali

    Malian students head back to school after Islamist rebels expelled from Gao

    Nigeria cautiously welcomes Boko Haram ceasefire

    This story was originally published on Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:06 AM EST

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • Israeli troops in deadly firefight with militants on Egyptian border

    Dudu Grunshpan / Reuters

    A wounded Israeli soldier is wheeled into Soroka hospital in the southern city of Beersheba Friday.

    By Reuters

    Israeli troops on Friday shot dead three militants in an exchange of fire near the border with Egypt, an Israeli army spokeswoman said. 

    An Israeli soldier was also killed, Israeli media reported, but the Israeli military declined immediate comment on that report.

    "Three armed terrorists crossed the border into Israel and opened fire at troops securing workers who are building the border fence in the area ... They (attackers) were wearing flak jackets and were well-armed and carried explosive belts," spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Avital Leibovich said.

    She said she did not have information on the identity or affiliation of the gunmen, but added that soldiers had "managed to thwart a major incident."

    In June, militants crossed into Israel from Egypt's Sinai desert and fired on Israelis building a barrier on the border, killing a worker, before soldiers killed two of the attackers.

    Israel is putting up the border fence to curb an influx of African migrants and improve security, hoping to complete it by the end of the year. It will run along most of the 165-mile frontier from Eilat, on the Red Sea, to the Gaza Strip. 

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    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • Activist: Assad's deadly crackdown turning peaceful Syrians into terrorists

    REUTERS / Shaam News Network / Handout

    Smoke rises from Bab Sabaa neighborhood of Homs on Monday.

    By Ian Johnston, msnbc.com staff

    Syrian President Bashar Assad’s deadly crackdown on opposition to his regime is turning once peaceful protesters into “terrorist people,” an activist hiding in a city shattered by an army bombardment told msnbc.com.

    Sami Ibrahim, of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, was reacting to an open letter written by New York-based Human Rights Watch, claiming opposition members were carrying human rights abuses such as kidnappings, torture and executions.

    Ibrahim spoke Tuesday by satellite phone from Homs, a rebel stronghold until it was hit by a sustained bombardment by government troops, forcing the Free Syrian Army to withdraw earlier this month.

    He said people had witnessed their wives being raped, children killed, people being tortured to death in prisons and shelling of civilian areas by tanks.

    “This will cause a lot of awful reaction,” he said.

    “We are dealing with humans and they have feelings,” Ibrahim added. “Thousands of people, they will change into terrorist people.”

    “What he [Assad] is doing is generating a generation to go to the dark way, to go to the darkness. The Assad regime, this criminal dictatorship, transfers the people from normal people, peaceful people, to another side we cannot control,” he said.

    Upscale neighborhood becomes Syria battleground

    The Syrian Network for Human Rights is not politically aligned, but has been documenting abuses mainly committed by Assad's forces since the start of the uprising just over a year ago.

    Syria's rebel fighters are desperate for arms and ammunition. Members of the Free Syrian Army were forced from Idlib - one of the last rebel strongholds. ITN's John Irvine reports from outskirts of Idlib, the north western city which rebels surrendered last week.

    He said the opposition was trying to be “very careful” about human rights and tried to convince people to “control their feelings,” but not everyone listened.

    Ibrahim, who said he would be tortured and killed if found by Assad’s forces, said Human Rights Watch had “made a mistake” in issuing the statement because the Assad regime’s violence was ultimately responsible for the backlash and it should instead by pressing for international action against the Syrian government.

    In its letter, dated Monday and addressed to the “Leaders of the Syrian Opposition,” Human Rights Watch said it was concerned about the “increasing evidence” of abuse and urged the opposition’s leadership to work to stamp it out.

    Report: Syria leader's wife says she's 'real dictator'

    “While the protest movement in Syria was overwhelmingly peaceful until September 2011, since then Human Rights Watch has documented apparent crimes and other abuses committed by armed opposition elements,” the letter says.

    “These crimes and abuses include the kidnapping and detention of security force members, individuals identified as government allies or supporters. They also include the use of torture and the execution of security force members and civilians,” it adds.

    The letter says some attacks against Shiite and Alawite communities appeared to be “motivated by sectarianism.”

    Human Rights Watch noted that a United Nations commission had found evidence of abuses in February. The commission’s report included information supplied by Assad’s regime.

    From university to torture chamber: A Syrian's story

    The letter said it recognized that it was not always easy to identify those involved in the abuses and that they might not follow the orders of opposition groups such as the Syrian National Council.

    It also said that criminal gangs claiming to be opposition members might be responsible.

    However, in its letter, Human Rights Watch said the Syrian National Council’s military bureau in particular should “condemn and forbid these abuses.”

    Emails to the Syrian National Council seeking comment Tuesday did not immediately receive a response.

    Mousab Azzawi, the London-based chairman of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, said there had been reports of abuses by opposition members, but that they were often difficult to verify.

    Azzawi told msnbc.com by telephone that one recent case that the Network had verified was of three Assad militia members who were executed by opposition fighters in Homs on March 9. He said the three men had been part of a larger group of Assad “thugs” who had been raping women in Homs as a form of punishment.

    Syria email hack points to new 'information war'

    Regarding human rights violations generally, he said that “we cannot accept them under any circumstances, regardless the perpetrator.”

    The Network includes doctors, lawyers and academics in Syria who follow up reports and attempt to corroborate allegations of abuses with a view to holding those responsible accountable to the International Criminal Court.

    Azzawi said Syria was on the verge of a full-scale civil war that would see many more abuses committed by both sides.

    But he said he was “a bit optimistic, to a small extent” that this would not happen because the leaders of the peaceful uprising “are refusing the principle of civil war.”

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  • Al-Qaida to Occupy: UK preps Olympics security

    Justin Tallis / AFP - Getty Images

    British Home Secretary Theresa May speaks at the Olympic and Paralympic Security Conference at The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London Wednesday.

    By F. Brinley Bruton, msnbc.com

    LONDON -- A range of security challenges threaten London’s 2012 Olympics from Islamic extremist and right-wing terrorists to cybercriminals and “encampment style protests,” Home Secretary Theresa May said Wednesday.

    The British government has strengthened its policies toward Occupy-style protests ahead of the games, May told a conference on security in London.

     

    May also called on organizers to ban tents and related equipment from games venues, and advocated a “rapid follow-up action by the police … using all available powers to remove encampments and equipment” if protesters did get through. 

    Anti-capitalists protesters have been camped outside London's St Paul's Cathedral since October as part of the international movement inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protest.

    “I have stressed to the police that they must act swiftly in support of London 2012 organizers … should the receive a complaint (of an Occupy-style protest),” she said at a conference organized by defense think tank RUSI.

    Attractive target
    Four billion around the world were expected to watch the Olympics on television, making it an attractive target for terrorists and protesters.

    Scotland Yard and the Royal marines teamed up in a show of strength against terrorists who might target the Olympics, practiced high speed drills using helicopters and boats on the River Thames.

    Despite the May’s comments, the police “had no plans whatsoever” to stop legal protests, Commander Richard Morris of London's Metropolitan Police said.

    The threat of “aggressive camping” was one of the new and evolving threats to Olympic security, Professor Michael Clarke, RUSI’s director-general said.

    The games will see the U.K.’s largest peacetime security operation and involve tens of thousands of security officials, with 13,500 military personnel, 12,000 police and 10,000 private contractors. 

    Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison of the UK Metropolitan Police will head up the security effort for the 2012 Olympics in London. He says the games will be the UK's largest peacetime security operation in the nation's history.

    Al-Qaida and related jihadi groups, right-wing extremists and Northern Irish militants are also a threat, Robert Raine, the director of Olympic safety and security for the Home Office, said.

    Dow Chemical sees more bad Olympics publicity

    The issue of security is particularly relevant one to Olympics organizers. The decision to award the Olympics to London was announced on July 6, 2005.  Just a day later, London suffered its worst peacetime attack when four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters.

    The U.K.’s alert level is expected to be raised to “severe” during the games, meaning that an attack is considered to be highly likely, officials said.

  • Boot Hezbollah from Twitter or we sue, group says

    Al-Manar is Hezbollah's "media arm," says the group seeking to have it and other terrorist-related groups removed from Twitter.

    By Suzanne Choney

    An Israeli law center said Thursday it is threatening to sue Twitter unless the social network cuts off access to groups, including Hezbollah, that are considered terrorist organizations by the United States.

    The law center, Shurat HaDin, describes itself as being "dedicated to enforcing basic human rights through the legal system," and says it has represented "victims of terrorism in courtrooms around the world."

    In a letter to San Francisco-based Twitter, attorney and Shurat HaDin executive director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner wrote that "it has come to our attention that Twitter, Inc. provides social media and associated services" to such groups as Hezbollah and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab — labeled as "foreign terrorist organizations" (or FTOs) by the United States.

    "Please be advised that providing social media and other associated services to terrorist groups is illegal and will expose Twitter, Inc. and its officers to both criminal prosecution and civil liability to American citizens and others victimized by terrorisms carried out by Hezbollah, Al-Shabaab or other FTOs."

    Shurat HaDin specifically contends that Twitter's service goes against a 2010 Supreme Court case declaring unlawful "any assistance or support" to terrorist organizations. 

    The law center, which has a New York office, wants Twitter to "immediately provide us written confirmation" that it will "permanently" discontinue access to Hezbollah, "Al-Manar TV, Al-Shabaab and any other FTOs ... Absent such confirmation, we will seek all available relief and remedies against Twitter, Inc. in all relevant jurisdictions."

    A spokesman for Twitter said the company does not have any comment about the potential lawsuit or the issue of allowing access to the groups. But it has long made a point of saying it does not take political sides, and favors free speech.

    The short-messaging microblog network, which limits posts to 140 characters, has come under fire in recent months for being used as a tool for disruption. Some disruption is considered positive, such as the role Twitter played in helping to foment the Arab Spring. But not all disruption is lauded.

    Twitter, as well as Facebook and RIM's BlackBerry phones, were all cited by British officials as the means for coordinating flash mobs and rioting last summer in Britain. More recently, in the U.S., Sen. Joe Lieberman, (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, is leading an effort to get Twitter to block some accounts that are pro-Taliban.

    The site, in operation for five years, has been the frequent target of legal action by activist groups and celebrities seeking to stop or pull down information they don't like. It generally refuses unless the account in question misrepresents itself as belonging to someone else.
     
    Otherwise, Twitter says, it will comply only with legal U.S. court orders, and it has often clashed with law enforcement agencies that seek to go further.
     
    In January, Twitter successfully appealed the Justice Department's decision to keep under seal a subpoena for account records of a member of the Icelandic Parliament with ties to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
     
    Earlier Thursday, Twitter was ordered to hand over information about the account of a user active in the Occupy Boston protests. The case came to public attention after the company refused prosecutors' request to keep the subpoena secret and alerted the account holder that his information was being sought

    Twitter has more than 100 million active users around the world who say they use the free service at least once a month.

    An analyst at the Center for Naval Analysis, Will McCants, told NPR this week there is no research so far that shows terrorists are getting many new recruits via social media like Twitter.

    "Social media is interesting as a new outlet for terrorist groups, but in terms of achieving al-Qaida's goal or the Taliban's goal of creating new recruits. ... I think it is a complete disaster," he said.

    But, said Darshan-Leitner in the Shurat HaDin press release, Hezbollah "and its terrorist networks have entered the global world of social media to further their murderous agenda. Twitter’s complicit service to known foreign terrorist organizations is not only morally irresponsible, it is also illegal. Twitter needs to take responsibility for the platform it is providing to known terrorists and cease and desist immediately. Their failure to do so exposes them to severe liability."

    Shurat HaDin practices what it calls "Pro-Israel Lawfare." It partners with lawyers in countries around the world to sue governments, financial institutions and companies that it says knowingly or unknowingly assist anti-Israeli terrorist organizations.
     
    The group's mission, it says, is to "bankrupt the terror groups and grind their criminal activities to a halt — one lawsuit at a time."

    In February, Darshan-Leitner was co-counsel in an action brought by five readers who sued former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his publishers for $5 million, alleging that in his 2006 book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," Carter made "false and knowingly misleading statements intended to promote the author's agenda of anti-Israel propaganda."

    The case, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, was dropped in May.
     
    In September, Darshan-Leitner threatened to sue about 150 U.S. colleges for allegedly refusing to fight anti-Semitism on their campuses.

    Msnbc.com's M. Alex Johnson contributed to this report.

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