The Netherlands is to call for greater sharing of intelligence data, including lists of suspected foreign fighters, at a gathering of global counter-terrorism officials today, in the wake of weak communications before the November 13 Paris attacks, Reuters reports.
A framework for sharing confidential intelligence already exists, but the Dutch are seeking to boost the use of databases at the European and international police agencies Interpol and Europol.
Several of the Paris attackers had been on the radar of authorities in various countries, providing opportunities to stop them.
IS's 'Little London' In Syria's Aleppo Province
The Telegraph is reporting this morning about the IS-controlled town of Manbij in northern Syria, which has gained the unfortunate nickname "Little London" because it drew so many British foreign fighters seeking to join the IS group.
As many as 100 Britons have lived in Manbij in the last year, residents have told the Telegraph. An estimated 700 are thought to have travelled to Syria to fight since 2011, half of whom have since returned to the UK.
“There are about 30 nationalities of [IS] fighters here: Britons are the highest, then the Germans and the French, then the Saudis and the Algerians,” said an activist living in Manbij who gave his name as Husain Husain. “It has the most Europeans of any town in Syria.”
In Iraq's Ramadi, where Iraqi forces -- assisted by close air support from the U.S.-led coalition -- have claimed victory against the IS group, efforts to rebuild the city are being hampered by the boobytraps left by IS militants in streets and buildings.
A BBC video tweeted this morning shows the initial movements of a Red Cross and UN convoy setting out for the besieged Syrian town of Madaya to bring desperately needed aid supplies.
The BBC reports that the emergency food supplies were set to be sent to Madaya, which is in the hands of rebel groups and which is thought to have a current population of 40,000 people, on January 10 but were delayed.
The ICRC Twitter account says that its teams are headed with aid to three towns in Syria: Madaya, Foua and Kefraya.
Madaya is a rebel-controlled town near Damascus and is under a government siege since July where opposition activists say people are starving.
Foua and Kefraya are two Shi'ite villages further north, which have been under a siege by rebel forces -- including Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Al-Nusra Front -- for even longer. Reports say residents there have resorted to eating grass.
The Financial Times this morning writes that Libya has reached its most critical juncture since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi.
Noting last week's attacks by the IS group on Libya's oil export terminals of Sidra and Ras Lanuf and the deadly IS truck bombing in Zliten, the FT says that IS's further expansion would threaten Libya's future oil production capacity.
Further expansion of Isis in Libya would increase the risk of long-term impairment to Libya’s production and export capacity through infrastructure damage. In this scenario, the integrity and independence of key institutions such as the National Oil Company could be put at risk as the rival governments continue to fight over Libya’s diminishing wealth, leading to further disruptions to oil production.
LIbyan news websites are also reporting this morning the unconfirmed reports from residents of Sirte that unidentified planes bombed IS positions in the Sirte area.
One Libyan Twitter account posted an image claiming to show one of the strikes. The image has not been verified.
From our news desk:
Humanitarian Aid To Enter Besieged Syrian Towns
Humanitarian aid will enter the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, where aid groups say residents are starving to death.
Emergency food supplies had been due to be sent to the rebel-held town on January 10 but the operation was delayed.
The International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria said aid would arrive in Madaya and two northern towns besieged by rebels, Foua and Kefraya, on January 11.
There are about 40,000 people in Madaya, near Lebanon's border, with residents said to be eating pets and grass to survive.
The medical charity Doctor Without Borders (MSF) warned that Madaya needed a constant supply of aid, not just a single delivery.
MSF warned on January 10 that residents were suffering from continuing starvation and shortages of medical supplies.
The first images have emerged of Paris attacks fugitive Saleh Abdeslam fleeing to Belgium in the immediate aftermath of the November 13 attacks, French TV news channel BFMTV, which published the images this morning, is reporting.
The images were taken by a CCTV camera in a gas station on the Belgian border on the morning of November 14 and show Abdeslam with Mohammed Amri, one of the two accomplices who took him from Paris to Brussels.
Abdeslam and his accomplices Hamza Attou and Mohammed Amri stopped at the gas station during the journey, where they refueled their Golf car before traveling on. Le Figaro notes that the men did not bother to cover their faces.
The trio spent 12 minutes in the gas station where Abdeslam, knowing that he was not (yet) a wanted man, appeared relaxed, and strolled around with his hands in his pockets, BFMTV reports.
As the first images of Paris attacks fugitive Saleh Abdeslam during his flight from Paris to Brussels on November 14 emerge, AFP reports this morning on the financial impact of the November 13 attacks.
Franco-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM said Monday that the November 13 terror attacks in Paris reduced its December turnover by an estimated 70 million euros ($76.42 million).
But the effect had largely tailed off over the past two weeks, it added.