#Anonymous fights online war against ISIS

The hacking group known as Anonymous has claimed responsibility for targeting hundreds and Twitter accounts and thousands of Facebook pages and dozens of email addresses because of their connections to ISIS according to CNN on Friday.

Their campaign is called Operation ISIS or OpISIS. Last month Anonymous made a declaration of war against ISIS extremists last month in a YouTube video, saying they would track down their websites and social media accounts and take them down. Anonymous posted a video Friday warning ISIS that they will be treated like a virus and they are the cure. They ended the video by saying we own the Internet.

Anonymous hacker group declares war against ISIS

"We are students, administrators, workers, clerks, unemployed, rich, poor. We are young, or old, gay or straight. We wear smart clothes or Uggs. We come from all races, countries, religions, and ethnicity. United as one, divided by zero. We are Anonymous.”

This latest hack has the potential of delivering a major blow to ISIS online media strategy.

ISIS has utilized the power of social media to recruit, issue threats and posting killings. Late Tuesday, a group that identified itself as the 'CyberCaliphate' hacked into Newsweek's Twitter account to promote its propaganda.

Dazed Digital reported that Anonymous released hundreds of social media accounts that were identified as Islamic militants and posted them to a Pastebin link.

International Business Times reported that at least one ISIS sympathizer threatened to kill members of Anonymous if the group continues its campaign.

Anonymous has gone from a threat to governments and businesses and now have been dubbed “The Digilantes.” Anonymous have identified themselves as a multi-ethnic group consisting of Muslims, Christians and Jews.

ISIS which is abbreviation for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, started as an al Qaeda splinter group, fighting to created an Islamic state across Iraq and Syria. They have taken over large parts of northern and western Iraq and has publicly executed their captives as well as recently burning alive a Jordanian pilot.

Hackers posing as beautiful women to steal intel

Hackers posing as beautiful women sent 'selfies' to Syrian rebels on Skype... and stole battle plans with hidden viruses.

Hackers targeted Syrian rebels with online 'honey traps' by posing as beautiful women to steal battle plans and the identity of defectors, a security firm has said.

A report by U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye tracked hacking operations in late 2013 and early 2014 that targeted Syrian opposition fighters, media activists and humanitarian aid workers.

FireEye said it was unclear whether the information stolen from the Syrian opposition had been passed onto the Syrian government and who the hackers were working for.

But the hacked material included a detailed opposition military plan for an attack in 2013 on the town of Khirbet Ghazaleh, strategically located in southern Daraa province.

The town had been under rebel control but was seized by regime troops in May 2013. Rebels have been unable to recapture it since.

Despite the high-tech tools used in the cyber attack, the hackers relied on a well-worn tactic: the 'honey trap.'

Targets were contacted on the chat and online phone service Skype by hackers posing as pro-opposition women.

They would ask the target whether they were on a smartphone or computer, apparently in a bid to tailor their attacks.

Then they would send their victim a photo of themselves loaded with malware that penetrated their personal files and stole information. The method was particularly effective because Syrian opposition members were often sharing computers, meaning one machine yielded information from multiple victims.

The material stolen covered extraordinary levels of detail, including the blood types of fighters and the timing of a handover of anti-tank missiles.

But not all of it related to warfare, with information about refugees, opposition media strategy and the inner workings of opposition political structures also included.

Most of the stolen material was created between May 2013 and December 2013, though some of it dated back to 2012 and as recently as January 2014. The hackers also used other tactics, including creating fake social media accounts and Syrian opposition websites that encouraged visitors to click on links that would infect their computers.

The report said: 'The hackers stole a cache of critical documents and Skype conversations revealing the Syrian opposition's strategy, tactical battle plans, supply needs, and troves of personal information and chat sessions.'

The hacking provided 'actionable military intelligence for an immediate battlefield advantage' in the case of the planned Khirbet Ghazaleh attack.

It captured 'the type of insight that can thwart a vital supply route, reveal a planned ambush and identify and track key individuals.' FireEye was unable to identify where the hackers it tracked were based, but it noted that their servers were outside of Syria and their tools and tactics differed from previous Syrian hackers.

The report's revelations are just the latest evidence of the stealth cyberwar that has accompanied the fighting in Syria's bloody conflict. Pro-government hackers identifying themselves as the Syrian Electronic Army have carried out high-profile attacks against the websites and social media accounts of media outlets and politicians.

And in 2012, a British newspaper published what it said were 3,000 emails sent by President Bashar al-Assad and his wife, obtained by opposition hackers with the help of a government mole.

Sami Saleh, an opposition activist and hacker using a pseudonym, said such examples were rare because the opposition was generally too poorly-equipped and -backed to carry out major hacking operations.

'We mostly carry out defensive operations,' he told AFP, describing multiple cases where opposition commanders and politicians were targeted by hackers.

In one case, a commander in northwestern Idlib province downloaded a file meant to contain military maps, accidentally compromising his computer. 'The cyber-war is about half the war, without exaggeration,' Saleh said.

Islamic State Terror Group Makes Alliance With Anti-Israel Hackers to Increase Cyber Attacks

A number of Twit­ter accounts promoting the Islamic State terrorist group are col­lab­o­rat­ing with anti-Israel hack­ers in an effort to increase cyber attacks on behalf of the terror organization, the Anti-Defamation League reported on Thursday.

 The Alazm Cen­ter Twit­ter account posted a message on Jan. 13 asking hack­ers to con­tact them. Since then, a group of anti-Israel hack­ers called “Ter­ror­ists Team for Elec­tronic Jihad” has claimed respon­si­bil­ity for sev­eral attacks against Israeli web­sites in the name of the Islamic State.

The hackers said they breached the web­site of a secu­rity con­trac­tor in Israel, a tour orga­nizer and other Israeli busi­nesses, according to ADL. Vis­i­tors are redirected to web­sites fea­tur­ing the name and flag of the Islamic State, along with the sig­na­ture of the hacking group.

“Ter­ror­ists Team for Elec­tronic Jihad” declared their allegiance to the Islamic State in a video posted on YouTube on Nov. 29, 2014, ADL noted. They also have a Face­book page and a Twit­ter account that include mes­sages in sup­port of Islamic State terrorists.

The group of hackers declared respon­si­bil­ity for the anti-Israel attacks in a state­ment posted on JustPaste.it, a file-shar­ing website the Islamic State uses to anonymously pub­lish its own state­ments.

The message said, “Thanks to God, below is today’s sum­mary of hack­ing web­sites which is part of a cam­paign against Zion­ist web­sites” and included a list of indi­vid­ual hack­ers affil­i­ated with the group. Sev­eral of the hackers took part in other cyber attacks against Israeli web­sites on behalf of groups in North Africa, according to ADL.

Videos of the hackings were posted on Aljyyosh, an online forum for Arab hack­ers claiming respon­si­bil­ity for steal­ing per­sonal infor­ma­tion from Amer­i­can Jews and Israelis.

The Islamic State Twit­ter account @Mo7_AbuAzzamNM, which describes itself as the “Hacker of the Caliphate State,” posts messages prais­ing the hack­ing of “Zion­ist web­sites.”

“Amer­ica has drones, but we have cyber expe­ri­ence,” @Mo7_AbuAzzamNM tweeted on Jan. 16. ”Oh mule of the Jews [Obama], the com­ing days will show you.”

AnonG­host, another hacker group that tar­gets Jew­ish and Israeli web­sites, is also promoting the Islamic State and its propaganda. The Twit­ter account of Mau­ri­ta­nia Attacker, the pre­sumed leader of AnonG­host, posted sev­eral messages recently related to cyber attacks on behalf of the terrorist group. The account then shared a video that explained to Islamic State terrorists how to avoid being mon­i­tored by the CIA.

Obama Admits to Being Shaken, Emboldened by ISIS Beheading Videos

"I think it would affect anybody who has an ounce of humanity"

U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday he has personally watched the graphic videos of Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) hostages being executed, saying they have helped catalyze the global community’s revulsion to the militant jihadist organization.

In an interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie airing Monday on Today Show, Obama said watching the videos has affected him personally. On Saturday, the U.S. government confirmed the authenticity of a video showing the beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.

“I think it’s fair to say that, anything related to these terrorist actions, I take a look at,” Obama said. “I think it would affect anybody who has an ounce of humanity. And it’s part of the reason why I think we’ve been so successful in organizing such a broad-based coalition.”

Referencing an American woman still being held by ISIS, Obama said the U.S. is doing anything possible to secure her release.

“Well, what we can say is that, as has been true of all the hostages, that we are deploying all the assets that we can, working with all the coalition allies that we can, to identify her location,” he said. “And we are in very close contact with the family trying to keep them updated.”

Hours after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Tom Frieden warned of the potential of a “large outbreak” of measles following increasing reports of the disease, Obama called on all parents to vaccinate their children.

“Measles is preventable,” Obama told Guthrie. “And I understand that there are families that, in some cases, are concerned about the effect of vaccinations. The science is, you know, pretty indisputable. We’ve looked at this again and again. There is every reason to get vaccinated, but there aren’t reasons to not.”

“You should get your kids vaccinated,” Obama continued. “It’s good for them and the challenge you have is if you have a certain group of kids who don’t get vaccinated, and if it grows large enough that a percentage of the population doesn’t get vaccinated and they’re the folks who can’t get vaccinated, small infants, for example, or people with certain vulnerabilities that can’t vaccinated, they suddenly become much more vulnerable.”

Islamic State reveals it has smuggled THOUSANDS of extremists into Europe

AN OPERATIVE working for Islamic State has revealed the terror group has successfully smuggled thousands of covert Jihadists into Europe.

The Syrian operative claimed more than 4,000 covert ISIS gunmen had been smuggled into western nations – hidden amongst innocent refugees.

The ISIS smuggler, who is in his 30s with a trimmed jet-black beard, revealed the ongoing clandestine operation is a complete success.

"Just wait," he smiled.

The Islamic State operative spoke exclusively to BuzzFeed on the condition of anonymity and is believed to be the first to confirm plans to infiltrate western countries.

Islamic State, also referred to as IS and ISIS, is believed to be actively smuggling deadly gunmen across the sparsely-guarded 565-mile Turkish border and on to richer European nations, he revealed.

There are now more than 4,000 covert ISIS gunmen "ready" across the European Union, he claimed.

The operative said the undercover infiltration was the beginning of a larger plot to carry out revenge attacks in the West in retaliation for the US-led coalition airstrikes.

"If someone attacks me," he said "then for sure I will attack them back."

Islamic State extremists are taking advantage of developed nation's generosity towards refugees to infiltrate Europe, he said.

The lethal ISIS gunmen use local smugglers to blend in and travel amongst a huge tide of illegal migrants flooding Europe.

More than 1.5million refugees have fled into Turkey alone – desperate to escape the bloodshed in Syria.

From Turkish port cities like Izmir and Mersin, thousands of refugees venture across the Mediterranean aiming for Italy, he said.

Then the majority make for more welcoming nations like Sweden and Germany, turning themselves over to authorities and appealing for asylum.

"They are going like refugees," he said.

Two Turkish refugee-smugglers backed up the claims made by the ISIS Syrian operative.

One admitted to helping more than ten trained ISIS rebels infiltrate Europe under the guise of asylum seekers.

He said: "I’m sending some fighters who want to go and visit their families.

"Others just go to Europe to be ready."

The Syrian operative, a former member of his nation's security forces, said ISIS had ambitious plans ahead.

"It’s our dream that there should be a caliphate not only in Syria but in all the world," he said "and we will have it soon, God willing."

The operative agreed to a meeting at the urging of a former Free Syrian Army gunman who fought alongside him in the war.

The Syrian said he had been granted permission to attend the meeting by his superior in ISIS — a radical referred to by members of the group as an "emir."

"There are some things I’m allowed to tell you and some things I’m not," he said.

During the meeting, the operative said he believed future attacks would only target Western governments – not civilians.

Although details of terror plot are something over which he has little control, he claims.

The jihadist told Western followers if they had the opportunity to "shed a drop of blood" in Western countries – then they should do so.

Spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani also praised the recent terror attacks in Australia, Belgium and France.

"We repeat our call to Muslims in Europe, the infidel West, and everywhere to target the Crusaders in their home countries and wherever they find them," he said.

"We will be enemies, in front of God, to any Muslim who can shed a drop of blood of a Crusader and abstains from doing that with a bomb, bullet, knife, car, rock or even a kick or a punch."

A Turkish foreign ministry official said authorities were actively working to clamp down on refugee-smuggling.

He pointed out that since Europe accepts few refugees through legal channels, the demand for smuggling has increased.

"Illegal migration has been an important issue and Turkey is effectively fighting against it," the official, who declined to be named, confirmed.

"Of course the most effective way to put an end to all these problems would be immediate action by the international community to solve the Syrian conflict."

When asked about the smuggling of Islamic State operatives in boats of innocent refugees, the anonymous official said his government was unaware of the plot.

"We do not have that particular intelligence," he said.

"Turkey has been taking very tight measures against [ISIS] with all the capabilities the government has."

ISIS claims beheading of Iraqi security personnel

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group beheaded an Iraqi police officer and a soldier, the latest in a long series of atrocities committed by the jihadists, according to pictures posted online Sunday.

In one photo, a blindfolded man said to be a police lieutenant colonel kneels in a street in front of a row of gunmen.

A masked militant is then shown beheading the victim with a machete, after which his severed head is placed atop his body and the machete driven into his back.

Another photo shows an overweight masked militant apparently struggling to behead a man identified as a captured Iraqi soldier.

The caption says a second soldier was also beheaded, but his death is not shown.

The authenticity of the photos could not be independently confirmed.

ISIS spearheaded a sweeping militant offensive in June that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad, and also holds significant territory in neighboring Syria.

The brutal militant group has killed thousands of people in both countries, some of them in highly-choreographed videotaped sequences in which the victims are beheaded.

Iraqi security forces, backed by Kurdish troops, Shiite militias, Sunni tribesmen and a U.S.-led campaign of air strikes, have managed to regain some ground from ISIS.

But the jihadists still control significant territory, including three major cities.

'Kenji has died, and my heart is broken': Mother of Japanese hostage beheaded by Jihadi John grieves while Jordan still offers prisoner swap to save their pilot

• Jordanian pilot Mu'adh al-Kaseasbeh, 26, is thought to still be alive.
• ISIS video released last night allegedly show beheading of Kenji Goto
• Terror group had been trying to exchange Goto for Jordanian prisoner
• In new video fighter tells camera 'we have an entire army thirsty for blood'
• Mr Goto's body is then shown lying on desert floor in rocky gorge
• There was no mention of Mr al-Kaseasbeh in last night's ISIS video
• His family are now demanding Jordanian government take action
• Japanese PM Shinzo Abe said he will 'never forgive' killing of hostages

The family of the Japanese ISIS hostage who appeared in a video allegedly showing his beheading by British militant Jihadi John has paid tribute to his memory.
The mother and brother of journalist Kenji Goto, 47, spoke of their loss following confirmation that he had passed away, although the authenticity of the video has yet to be proven.

This comes as the Jordanian government has pledged to do 'everything it can' to save the pilot thought to still be held hostage by ISIS militants.

'Kenji has died, and my heart is broken. Facing such a tragic death, I'm just speechless,' Goto's mother Junko Ishido told reporters, adding that her son's death showed he was a kind gentle man, trying to save another hostage.

'I was hoping Kenji might be able to come home,' said Goto's brother, Junichi Goto, in a separate interview. 'I was hoping he would return and thank everyone for his rescue, but that's impossible, and I'm bitterly disappointed.'

Lt. Mu'adh al-Kaseasbeh, 26, has been held hostage since December, but last night's video, purporting to show Mr Goto's beheading, made no mention of him.

Earlier this week, the Jordanian government said it would give in to ISIS's demands and release a death-row al-Qaeda prisoner, in exchange for Mr al-Kaseasbeh.

Hours after the release of the video, the Jordanian government said it would 'do everything it can to save the life and secure the release' of Mr al-Kaseasbeh.

'All state organisations have been mobilised to secure the proof of life that we require so that he can be freed and returned to his home,' Government spokesman Mohammed al-Momeni said today.

Jordan said on Friday that it will only release Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, a failed suicide bomber currently on death row, if it gets proof Mr al-Kaseasbeh is alive.

Mr al-Momeni also condemned the murder of Japanese journalist Mr Goto after days of intensive efforts through intermediaries to save him. 'We spared no effort, in coordination with the Japanese government, to save his life,' Momeni said.

Mr al-Kaseasbeh's father, Safi al-Kassasbeh, today denounced the killing of Mr Goto saying the Jordanian 'government is responsible' for his son's fate.

Members of the al-Kaseasbeh tribe held a candlelight vigil in his home town of Karak, Jordan on Saturday, carrying posters with 'we are all Mu'adh,' written in Arabic.

An uncle of the pilot, Yassin Rawashda, said early Sunday that 'we want the government to tell us the truth.' He says the family also wants to know which direction negotiations are headed.

The government is also under domestic pressure to win the release of Mr al-Kaseasbeh, the first foreign pilot to be captured by ISIS since a U.S.-led military coalition began carrying out air strikes in Iraq and Syria in September.

Since his capture, there have been several protests in Jordan questioning the country's involvement in the fight against ISIS.

Hostage: The fate of Jordanian pilot Mu'adh al-Kasasibah, is still unknown Last Saturday an audio recording emerged purporting to be of Mr Goto explaining that Mr Yukawa had been killed, and again pleading for his release.

The voice claimed that ISIS had changed its demands, asking the Jordanian government for the release of al-Rishawi and threatening to kill Mr al-Kaseasbeh.

There was no mention of the fate of Mr al-Kaseasbeh in last night's footage, and Jordan has previously threatened to kill all of its ISIS hostages if he is harmed.

Jordan's government spokesman, Mohammed al-Momani, declined comment late Saturday on the video of Mr Goto's purported beheading.

The video seems to show the 47-year-old freelance journalist being beheaded by the ISIS militant fighter known as Jihadi John.

The 70-second clip shows Mr Goto kneeling in a rocky gorge while the masked murderer delivers a scripted message to the camera.

The killer then lowers his knife and the footage goes black, as is common in ISIS propaganda films. When the footage begins again Mr Goto's body is shown lying on the desert floor.

The fighter, who has a British accent, says: 'To the Japanese government: You, like your foolish allies in the Satanic coalition, have yet to understand that we, by Allah's grace, are an Islamic Caliphate with authority and power, an entire army thirsty for your blood.

'(Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo) Abe, because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found.

'So let the nightmare for Japan begin.'

The Japanese government has strongly condemned the apparent killing and today ordered heightened security precautions Sunday and said it would persist with its non-military support for fighting terrorism.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: 'I cannot help feeling strong indignation that an inhuman and despicable act of terrorism like this has been committed again.'

Japanese authorities have said the video is most likely genuine. A statement from a cabinet meeting of senior politicians said the footage 'has a high degree of credibility.'

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe added: 'I feel strong indignation at this inhumane and contemptible act of terrorism. I will never forgive these terrorists.'

'Japan will work with the international community to bring those responsible for this crime to justice,' he said, reiterating that Japan would not give in to terrorism.

Abe vowed to continue providing humanitarian aid to countries fighting the Islamic State extremists. Bowing to terrorist intimidation would prevent Japan from providing medical assistance and other aid it views as necessary for helping to restore stability in the region, he and other officials say.

On Saturday, President Barack Obama led global condemnation of the apparent slaying, deeming it a 'heinous murder' and saying the US stands in solidarity with Japan against the 'barbaric act'.

In a statement, Obama called Goto courageous and said America applauds Japan's steadfast commitment to advancing peace and prosperity in the Middle East as well as around the world.

Also on Saturday, Andreas Kreig, assistant professor for defence studies at King's College London, told MailOnline that he believes the footage is genuine.

We are an Islamic Caliphate with... an entire army thirsty for your blood
He said: 'The technology that is used to film, they way the shots are cut, the way the footage transitions from one shot to the next, these are all things we have seen before in ISIS videos.'

Anthony Glees, Professor of Security Studies at Buckingham University, added: 'This kind of video still has the power to shock. 'It's particularly shocking because in this case everyone had a sense that Mr Goto may be released, as would the Jordanian pilot.'

Last night ISIS tweeted to say they were going to give King Abdullah, the deceased ruler of Saudi Arabia, a present on what would have been his 91st birthday.

Last night terror expert Shiraz Maher, who works for King's College London, tweeted the message, and added: 'I suspect, sadly, we'll see hostage videos released soon.'

Asked whether he had been expecting ISIS to release footage this evening, Dr Kreid added: 'We had not been expecting anything, but something had to happen, because ISIS had issued an ultimatum that was not met.'

Mr Goto first appeared in an ISIS propaganda video a week ago alongside fellow Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa, 42.

ISIS demanded $200million for the release of both of the men, the same amount the Japnese government pledged to help fight the organisation.

The Japanese government has said it is currently trying to verify the footage, which was distributed by ISIS' propaganda arm al-Furqan Media Foundation.

Mr Goto, 47, a war correspondent with experience in Middle East hot spots, went to Syria in late October to try to help release Mr Yukawa, who was captured in July.

Mr Yukawa's arrival in the Middle East followed a number of difficult years, which appeared to begin in 2005, when his business failed, leaving him in debt and, at one point, reportedly homeless.

The Japnese government has previously condemned ISIS' threats against Mr Yukawa and Mr Goto, while stating that they will not cooperate with terrorists.

After news of Mr Yukawa's killing spread, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said: 'Considering the unbearable pain and sorrow that his family must be feeling, I am speechless.

'Such act of terrorism is outrageous and impermissible, it causes me nothing but strong indignation. I condemn it strongly and resolutely.'

U.S. officials said they were trying to confirm the authenticity of the video.

Bernadette Meehan, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, said: 'We have seen the video purporting to show that Japanese citizen Kenji Goto has been murdered by the terrorist group ISIL.

'The United States strongly condemns ISIL's actions and we call for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages. We stand in solidarity with our ally Japan.'

Junko Ishido, Mr Goto's mother, has previously issued a tearful appeal for her son to be released.

Speaking at a press conference last week, she said: 'I say to you people of the Islamic State, Kenji is not your enemy. Please release him. 'Kenji was always saying 'I hope to save lives of children on battlefields'. He was reporting war from a neutral position.'

Mr Gotos' death, if confirmed, adds to a long list of foreign hostages that have apparently been killed by Jihadi John, including Harnua Yukawa. The list of victims also includes British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid worker Peter Kassig.

Facebook kills pic of Mohammed weeks after Zuck's Je suis Charlie!

Don't harm the profit, I mean, prophet. No, wait, profit

Earlier this month, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg proclaimed that his social network, used by millions, was a free-speech zone.

"As I reflect on the attack and my own experience with extremism, this is what we all need to reject – a group of extremists trying to silence the voices and opinions of everyone else around the world," the behoodied one posted on his own site at the time.

"I won't let that happen on Facebook. I'm committed to building a service where you can speak freely without fear of violence. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, the people of France and the people all over the world who choose to share their views and ideas, even when that takes courage. ‪#‎JeSuisCharlie"‬

A month after that statement, Facebook pulled a Turkish user's page after it displayed an image of Mohammed taken from French satire mag Charlie Hebdo, after a court in Turkey ruled that it infringed a local law which forbids representations of the prophet being displayed.

A well-placed source familiar with the matter said Facebook had to block content so that it's no longer visible in Turkey following a valid legal request from the court. The single page is now offline in the country, but can be viewed outside of the state's borders.

This isn't the first time the company has been accused of kowtowing to local laws at the expense of free speech. In November, Facebook removed a notice from Putin critic Alexei Navalny after Russian internet regulators requested the censorship.

In Zuckerberg's post on the Hebdo atrocity, he made it clear Facebook follows local laws in the countries it operates in. But we live in times when you can be flogged a thousand times for posting something on the social network, and some in Silicon Valley are disappointed the moneybags firm is not doing more to stand up for free speech.

Isis 'throw man off a building for homosexual affair' and beat him to death when he survives

Isis militants allegedly threw a man charged with having an affair with another man off the top of a building and then beat him to death when he survived the fall, a human rights watchdog has claimed.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) quoted a source as saying the man was killed in the Tal Abyad town in Raqqa, an Isis stronghold. The Observatory obtains its information from a network of activists on the ground.

The man’s reported death follows a spate of executions within a 24-hour period earlier this month, which included two men accused of homosexual acts reportedly being thrown off a building. A series of photos were released via the “Information Office of the mandate of Nineveh” claiming to show militants administering 'hudud' (fixed punishments).

The images appeared to show the men at the top of a large tower overlooking Ninevah, a city in Iraq. One image showed a man falling towards the ground, where a large crowd appears to be controlled by a line of militants.

In December, Isis released a copy of their penal code, which listed so-called ‘crimes’ punishable by amputation, stoning and crucifixion. Some of the crimes included homosexuality and 'spying for the unbelievers', both of which were deemed punishable by death.

The Observatory reports the extremist group has executed 35 people in January alone in Syria, including 22 civilians.

On Friday, the Observatory said militants attempted to stone a woman to death in Raqqa on charges of adultery – but she apparently survived.

Sources said militants stoned her in al- Ferdos Street until they believed her to be dead, but the woman had actually survived and escaped the militants. One militant tried to shoot her but an Isis-appointed Sharia judge intervened, saying her “her sentence is done - let her go and repent to her God”, according to the SOHR.

The reported killing comes after Human Rights Watch lambasted the group in its annual report but also criticized the "sectarian and abusive" policies of the Syrian and Iraqi governments, saying they fuel extremism.

Murdered Charlie Hebdo staff to be honoured at 42nd Angoulême comic book festival

The Festival de Bande Dessinée has opened and will award a Charlie Freedom of Speech prize among other honours

The celebrated Angoulême comic book festival opened on Thursday to laughter and tears three weeks after some of France’s best known cartoonists were gunned down in a terrorist attack.

Amid tight security, the 42nd Festival de Bande Dessinée opened to tributes to the Charlie Hebdo staff killed when Chérif and Saïd Kouachi stormed the satirical magazine’s Paris offices on 7 January.

Franck Bondoux, one of the festival organisers, said: “Even if it is overshadowed by the Charlie drama, Angoulême must remain a celebration of comic books.” A series of tributes to Charlie Hebdo and its murdered cartoonists has been planned for the festival that will run for four days.

These include a “Charlie Freedom of Speech award” and a special Grand Prix award to be given to the murdered stars of the Charlie Hebdo editorial team, as well as a hastily arranged Je Suis Charlie exhibition, which French president François Hollande is expected to open. A memorial cartoon book made up of 170 cartoons chosen from 800 submitted will be published.

Work by Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist, American Bill Watterson, and his compatriot Jack Kirby, co-creator of Captain America, Hulk and X-Men, also features in the festival exhibition.

Catherine Meurisse, a cartoonist for the satirical magazine, who escaped the slaughter because she arrived late for the weekly editorial meeting, also has work entered in the festival Grand Prix competition.

Dozens of extra police and gendarmes have been drafted into Angoulême for the festival period.

U.S.-based ISIS cell fundraising on the dark web, new evidence suggests

New revelation is part of wider trend of jihadists seeking refuge in the 'dark web' to avoid detection by authorities.

LONDON — A Tel Aviv analyst working for a Singapore-based cyber intelligence company says he has uncovered concrete evidence that a terror cell, purporting to be related to Islamic State and operating in the Americas, is soliciting for Bitcoins as part of its fundraising efforts. There has long been evidence that terrorist cells use the Web — including the highly anonymous network found within the "dark web" which is not indexed or even seen by standard search engines — for both recruiting and fundraising purposes.

Concerns have also been voiced that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, might begin using Bitcoin — the underground digital web currency that allows for anonymous transactions. But this is the first time, says analyst Ido Wulkan, 25, that evidence is being made public linking what claims to be a specific Islamic State cell to Bitcoin fundraising in the dark web. This could be a one-off fundraising effort, admits Wulkan, or even — possibly although very unlikely, he says — a hoax or a joke. But it could also be pointing to a larger, more worrying trend.

The information gathered has been passed on to various authorities tracking Islamic State activities. “Due to the increasing efforts of social media websites to close ISIS-related accounts it was estimated that global jihad activists would seek refuge in the dark web,” says Wulkan, who is a senior web-intelligence analyst at S2T, a Singapore company that develops big data and cyber intelligence solutions for governments and big corporations. Wulkan was scouring the deep web for a client — using S2T’s GoldenSpear data discovery system — as part of a project “having to do with international jihad,” he says, declining to give more details.

The purported ISIS funding website was tracked down through a referral on a Turkish closed forum and is linked to other, known, jihadist sites,says Wulkan and others at S2T. Once in the site, Wulkan found the following message from the group’s fundraiser, a man identified only as Abu-Mustafa: “Many of us live within the United States, and some are prominent with the community on both coasts,” writes Abu–Mustafa. “We are currently working with recent reverts to Islam and generally training brothers to struggle to establish a new Islamic front both in the U.S. and around the world.” Abu-Mustafa goes on to talk about the scarcity of resources, such as money and facilities, which are available to young Muslims in the United States and South America who want to struggle against “their enemies.” “Donations may be made through various means both monetary and physical,” explains Abu-Mustafa, “...though anything besides economic support through Bitcoin must be approved by the board and taken with much caution due to the security apparatus’ recent crackdown on any and all Islamic change fronts here in the United States.”

 The revelation of this deep web site comes after the publication last July of a pro-ISIS blog titled “Bitcoin and the Charity of Violent Physical Struggle.” In it, a man identified as Taqi’ul-Deen al-Munthir argued that in order for Islamic State to fund its terror operations it needed to go outside the Western financial system. “One cannot send a bank transfer to a mujahid [jihad fighter] or suspected mujahid without the kafir [infidel] governments ruling today immediately being aware,” he wrote on the blog, which received much media attention. Al-Munthir called on ISIS supporters to encrypt their financial transactions by means of the so-called "Dark Wallet" — making it harder for state agencies fighting terrorism to track the transactions.

“This allows our brothers stuck outside of the ardh Dawlatul-Islam [Islamic State] to avoid government taxes along with secretly fund [sic] the Mujahideen with no legal danger upon them,” reads the post. Al-Munthir also extolled the ‘Silk Road” — an online market place running mostly on Bitcoin and accessible, as are all sites on the dark web, only through a Tor network (a software protocol that reroutes traffic through hundreds of servers and computers to conceal identities).

Both Silk Road and Silk Road 2.0 were eventually shut down by the FBI. Despite this red flag indicating ISIS’s interest in Bitcoin, says Wulkan, there was no information made public as to whether ISIS cells had actually set up accounts into which Bitcoin could be transferred — until now. “There was smoke, and now we have found the fire,” says Wulkan.

According to the London-based Quilliam Foundation, the world’s first counter extremist think tank, finding such evidence of Bitcoin fundraising on the dark web should not surprise anyone. “Attempts to block extremist material online will always fail….” they wrote in a recent position paper about the British government’s attempts to shutter extremist activity on the web. “The terrorist material reappears on the Internet as quickly as it is banished and the policy risks driving fanatics on to the “dark web” where they are even harder to track.” According to Wulkan and others at S2T, Abu-Mustafa’s group left a Bitcoin account number showing that it managed to raise five Bitcoin, worth approximately, at the time, $1,000 dollars.

The account, says Wulkan, has since been seized and shut down by the FBI. But even if Islamic State fundraising for Bitcoins on the dark web is a phenomenon one might expect to see more of, observers note that, at present, it still represents only the tiniest drop in the bucket for the terror group.

Available intelligence suggests Islamic State is managing to raise hundreds of millions of dollars — mainly through illicit activities such as kidnapping, extortion and straight out theft. This summer, Islamic State reportedly stole over $425 million dollars worth of Iraqi dinars from Mosul’s central bank, making it one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, terror groups in the world.

‘You will discover hell on earth’: French govt launches campaign against jihadists

The French government has released a graphic video that “deciphers jihadist propaganda” in order to discourage young people from going to the Middle East to fight alongside extremists by saying they will find “hell on earth.” 

The video with the hashtag #StopJihadism was published in a bid to counter calls to join extremist groups in the Middle East, including the Islamic State militants who are rampaging through parts of Syria and Iraq.

The beginning of the video shows popular jihadist groups on social media and an anonymous invite to join the terrorists saying “the truth is out there and now is the time to go... if you want more info just give me your number..." It then goes on to explain the difference between what the jihadists say about joining them and what the reality is.

"They told you: "Sacrifice yourself by our side for a just cause," the message in French says."In reality, you'll find hell on earth and you'll die alone, far from home." The text is accompanied by footage of people killed and their bodies dumped.