Russian Arrested In Turkey For IS Links Also Wanted In Russia
One of the three Russian nationals arrested in Antalya in Turkey on January 13 on suspicion of having links to the IS group is also wanted in Russia, according to RIA Novosti.
RIA named the man yesterday as Aydar Suleymanov, who was charged in absentia by the Tatarstan Interior Ministry in the summer, over allegations that he was involved in a terror group.
Suleymanov was placed on the federal wanted list and on October 25 was placed on the Interpol wanted list, according to RIA.
Suleymanov, who Russian news outlets say was born in 1984, had been held in a deportation center in Turkey in 2014-2015, RIA reported, citing a "source in one of the relevant authorities."
'IS Recruiter'
Suleymanov is thought to have been an IS recruiter, according to Russian news reports.
He left Russia in 2003 via the Novaya Huta border post on the border with Belarus.
"According to confirmed reports, he participated in the activities of terror groups that are part of IS, he organized and supervised the operation of a a steady channel for the transfer of people from Russia to IS. It was he who organized the crossing of people into the Middle East together with those Russian nationals detained with him in Turkey, Ruslan Khaybullov and Kamaludin Babayev," an "informed source" was quoted as saying.
Released?
This morning, the Russian Embassy in Ankara said that it was checking information that Suleymanov had been released.
"We cannot yet confirm or deny the information about his release. The information is being checked," the Embassy's press attache said.
Number Of Militants Returning To Germany From Syria On Rise
The number of militant fighters returning to Germany from Syria is increasing, and Germany is watching more than 400 individuals who "pose a threat and whom we must keep an eye on," Holger Muench, the head of German police, has said.
Muench said that the number of people leaving Germany to fight alongside militant groups in Syria was dropping.
Russia Calls For Aid To Be Delivered To All Areas Besieged By Militants
Russia's Foreign Ministry has said that all parties to the Syrian conflict including those countries who have influence over those parties, should make efforts to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to areas besieged by "militants from the terrorist groups the Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham and the Islam Army."
"Moscow is concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in populated areas in Syria as a result of the ongoing armed conflict in the country," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that Moscow was particularly concerned about Madaya, Foua and Kefraya.
Jakarta Grenades Inspired By Al-Qaeda 'How To' Guide?
Matthew Henman of Janes tweets that photos of the grenades recovered from the attackers in Jakarta appear similar in construction to grenades described in a how-to guide in issue 14 of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's English language magazine, Inspire.
Issue 14 of Inspire was released on September 9 and includes a guide titled "Designing a Timed Hand Grenade."
According to the SITE Intelligence Group, the manual "broke the process down and listed materials needed to make such a weapon, accompanied by pictures of each step."
Over 500 Kyrgyz Nationals Went To Syria In 2015 -- Ministry
Some 508 Kyrgyz nationals went to Syria and Iraq in 2015, including 387 men and 121 women, Kyrgyz Interior Ministry official Stalbek Rakhmanov has said.
Some 83 of those who went to Syria and Iraq were minors and 58 were taken to Syrian with their families.
According to Rakhmanov, 33 Kyrgyz nationals have been killed fighting in Syria.
Some 40 of those who left have returned to Kyrgyzstan.
Background On The Syrian Rebel Sieges Of Kefraya and Foua
Sam Heller, who blogs as Abu Jamajem, has written some interesting and timely background on the siege by rebels of two of Syria's Shi'ite villages, Foua and Kefraya, which have also received aid this week at the same time as the rebel-held besieged town of Madaya.
The rebels behind the siege include the hardline Sunni Islamist Ahrar al-Sham and Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Al-Nusra Front.
Heller writes:
My impression, and what I’ve heard from others, is that Ahrar and Nusrah have not exercised leverage on al-Fou’ah and Kafarya (and thus Iran, Hizbullah and the Assad regime) by imposing the sort of crushing deprivation we’ve seen in Madaya. As Abu Khaled argues, al-Fou’ah and Kafarya benefit not just from relief shipments that fall under the Zabadani truce, but also from opportunistic residents of neighboring towns willing to sell supplies and from regime airdrops. Instead, rebels have leaned on the towns by shelling them indiscriminately and threatening them through conventional military means. Indeed, we saw Saudi jihadist evangelist and chief Jeish al-Fateh judge Abdullah al-Muheisini argue earlier this month al-Fou’ah should be “exterminated” if the siege on Madaya weren’t lifted.
AFP have tweeted this map showing the locations of three besieged Syrian towns were aid has arrived this week.
Madaya is a rebel-held town under siege by government forces since July.
Foua and Kefraya are Shi'ite villages under siege by rebel forces.
UNICEF Confirms Severe Malnutrition In Madaya, Syria
UNICEF has said that it has confirmed cases of severe malnutrition among children in the besieged rebel-held town of Madaya.
UNICEF also said that its staff witnessed the death of a severely malnourished 16-year-old boy.
Four Of The Jakarta Attackers Have Been Identified
Police in Indonesia say they have identified four of the five militants who carried out yesterday's attacks in the capital Jakarta.
They say that two were previously convicted militants and named one as Afif Sunakim, who served a seven-year prison term for attending a militant camp in Aceh.
That concludes our live-blogging of the crisis surrounding Islamic State for Thursday, January 14. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.