US to mark 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has been banned from giving speeches in Malaysia, news agency reported on Tuesday.

Malaysian police on Monday questioned Naik for allegedly making insensitive remarks about race in the multi-ethnic country, as <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/malaysia-can-revoke-zakir-naiks-pr-status-mahathir-mohamad-243514">pressure mounts on authorities to kick him out</a>.

Zakir Naik, a radical television preacher who has called the 9/11 attacks an "inside job", left India in 2016 and moved to Malaysia, where he was granted permanent residency.

Several cabinet ministers have publicly called for Naik to be kicked out, while even Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he had crossed the line.

Malaysian authorities have initiated an investigation against Naik over his intent to provoke a peace breach by allegedly making sensitive remarks on Hindus and Chinese residing in Muslim-majority nation.

Mahathir said the government will first wait for the results of the police investigation into the alleged inflammatory remarks made by him against minorities in Malaysia, reported Malay Mail.

"He (Naik) has PR status. We can take that away if he does something that is detrimental to the well-being of the nation," said Mahathir.

"At this moment, the police are investigating if he is doing that or not. If he is doing it, then it is necessary for us to take away his PR status," he said.

India said it has made a formal request to Malaysia and will continue to pursue his extradition.

(With inputs from agencies)

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has been banned from giving speeches in Malaysia, news agency reported on Tuesday. Malaysian police on Monday questioned Naik for allegedly making insensitive remarks about race in the multi-ethnic country, as pressure mounts on authorities to kick him out.

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has been banned from giving speeches in Malaysia, news agency reported on Tuesday. Malaysian police on Monday questioned Naik for allegedly making insensitive remarks about race in the multi-ethnic country, as pressure mounts on authorities to kick him out. Zakir Naik, a radical television preacher who has called the 9/11 attacks an "inside job", left India in 2016 and moved to Malaysia, where he was granted permanent residency. Several cabinet ministers have publicly called for Naik to be kicked out, while even Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he had crossed the line. Malaysian authorities have initiated an investigation against Naik over his intent to provoke a peace breach by allegedly making sensitive remarks on Hindus and Chinese residing in Muslim-majority nation. Mahathir said the government will first wait for the results of the police investigation into the alleged inflammatory remarks made by him against minorities in Malaysia, reported Malay Mail. "He (Naik) has PR status. We can take that away if he does something that is detrimental to the well-being of the nation," said Mahathir. "At this moment, the police are investigating if he is doing that or not. If he is doing it, then it is necessary for us to take away his PR status," he said. India said it has made a formal request to Malaysia and will continue to pursue his extradition. (With inputs from agencies)

Controversial preacher Zakir Naik banned from giving speeches in Malaysia: Source

Al-Qaeda's post-Osama strategy: Hamza bin Laden's 'voice' used to blunt Islamic State

The Taliban justifies the 9/11 attack. The Taliban said the U.S to be blamed for the Hijack. The U.S negotiating a peace deal for Afghanistan. The U.S has held seven rounds of talks. The U.S wants an Afghan deal by September. The Taliban has released a video. Watch this video to know more.

Taliban provokes America, justifies 9/11 attack

The Taliban have justified the 9/11 attack and blamed America's policy for it. The group has released new footage. The footage was shared online by the American website Long War Journal.

Taliban justifies 9/11 attack, blames US for 9/11

By Christian Taylor

Al-Qaeda has recruited an estimated 40,000 fighters since September&nbsp;11, 2001, when the Osama bin Laden-led extremist group attacked the United States, according to the not-for-profit Council on Foreign Relations.

Despite a United States-led global “war on terror” that has cost $5.9 trillion, killed an estimated 480,000 to 507,000 people and assassinated bin Laden, al-Qaida has grown and spread since 9/11, expanding from rural Afghanistan into North Africa, East Africa, the Sahel, the Gulf States, the Middle East and Central Asia.

In those places, Al-Qaeda has developed new political influence – in some areas even supplanting the local government.

So how does a religious extremist group with fewer than a hundred members in September 2001 become a transnational terror organisation, even as the world’s biggest military has targeted it for elimination?

According to my dissertation research on the resiliency of Al-Qaeda and the work of other scholars, the US “war on terror” was the catalyst for Al-Qaeda’s growth.

Bin Laden and the ‘war on terror’

Al-Qaeda was founded in Afghanistan in 1988 in response to the Soviet invasion of that country.

For decades, it was a small, weak and uninspiring movement. Bin Laden sought to raise an Islamic coalition of forces to establish a caliphate – an Islamic state governed with strict Islamic law – across the Muslim world. But as late as 1996 he had just 30 fighters willing to die for the cause.

For years, bin Laden tried to merge with such extremist groups as Egypt’s Ibn al-Khattab and the Libyan Islamic Fighting group, hoping to create a global Islamist movement.

These organisations rejected bin Laden’s overtures. These disparate groups lacked a common enemy that could unite them in al-Qaeda’s fight for an Islamic caliphate.

So bin Laden shifted his strategy. He decided to make the United States – a country most Islamic extremist groups see as the enemy of Islam – his main target.

In 1998 Al-Qaeda waged successful attacks on the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. In 2000, it bombed the USS Cole, a military ship refuelling in a Yemen harbour, killing 17 sailors.

Bin Laden hoped the US would respond with a military invasion into Muslim majority territory, triggering a holy war that would put al-Qaida at the forefront of the fight against these unholy invaders.

After Al-Qaeda operatives flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, killing 2,977 people, bin Laden got his wish. The United States invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. Eighteen months later, it invaded Iraq.

How Al-Qaeda grew

Islamic groups and individual extremists flocked to bin Laden’s cause after 9/11. Al-Qaeda became the nucleus of a global violent Islamist movement, with affiliates across the Middle East and Africa swearing their allegiance.

At the same time, the war in Afghanistan was decimating Al-Qaeda’s core operations.

Leaders were killed by drone strikes or driven into hiding. The Bush administration claimed killing 75 per cent of Al-Qaeda leadership. Bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders sought refuge in places like the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan and Yemen – remote areas outside the easy reach of US ground forces.

To evade US detection, Al-Qaeda had to limit communication between its newly decentralised fronts. That meant the group’s global leadership had to have autonomy to operate relatively independently.

Bin Laden expected Al-Qaeda affiliates to adhere to certain core values, strategies and, of course, pursue the objective of establishing an Islamic caliphate.

But newly minted regional al-Qaida leaders – people like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq, Ahmed Abdi Godane in Somalia and Nasir al-Wuhayshi in Yemen – enjoyed enough autonomy to pursue their own agendas in these unstable places.

Al-Qaeda Iraq, al-Shabaab and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as their groups came to be known, embedded themselves in the local political scene. They began building credibility, establishing alliances and recruiting fighters.

By 2015, when bin Laden was killed, al-Qaida was a network of regional caliphates. Today its territory spans from Afghanistan and Pakistan to North Africa, the Middle East and beyond.

Manipulation of a sectarian divide

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, headquartered in Yemen, is a case study in how the group now wields its power more locally.

Yemen has been in civil war since 2015, when a Houthi Shiite armed group declared war against the country’s Sunni Muslim government.

Although this conflict appears sectarian in nature, the Yemen scholar Marieke Brandt argues it is largely about political power – namely, the Yemeni government’s longstanding neglect of the Houthi minority, who come from northern Yemen.

Nonetheless, Al-Qaeda – a Sunni terror group – saw political opportunity in Yemen’s civil war.

The group has played up religious divisions in the civil war. Using its Arabic magazine, martyrdom videos, poetry and popular songs, Al-Qaeda has endeared itself to the local Sunni people and Yemen’s powerful Sunni tribal leaders. It has also ingratiated itself to Yemen’s Saudi Arabia-backed government and fought alongside Sunni tribal militias to battle the Houthi incursion.

The strategy has been remarkably effective for Al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula had hundreds of fighters at its founding in 2009. It now has about 7,000 fighters in Yemen, most of them Sunnis recruited from territory the Houthis have attempted to take over.

It has planted landmines and bombs across Yemen that have killed hundreds, held journalists hostage and, in 2015, orchestrated the massacre at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris.

The US government considers Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be the most sophisticated and threatening branch of Al-Qaeda.

Adapt the tactic, keep the mission

In adapting its methods to Yemeni culture, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has made some missteps.

In 2011, the group attempted to impose extremely strict Islamic rule over two areas it controlled in south Yemen. Al-Qaeda instituted rigid punishments of the sort common in Afghanistan, such as cutting off the hands of a thief and banning the chewed stimulant plant called khat.

These extreme rules got Al-Qaeda run out of town by Sunni tribal militias.

The next time Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula asserted its political power over parts of Yemen left ungoverned in the chaos of civil war, in 2015, it did not rule directly over these territories. Rather, it allowed a local council to govern according to their own norms and customs. And it kept the khat market open.

Al-Qaeda also paid for long-neglected public services like schools, water and electricity – effectively becoming the state.

According to the International Crisis Group, a humanitarian organisation, this softer stance helped garner the acceptance of the local population. That, in turn, ensured al-Qaida could keep using Yemen as a regional headquarters.

A similar shift from global to local has occurred in Al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia, Iraq and Syria.

Al-Qaeda is no longer a hierarchical organisation taking orders from its famous, charismatic leader, as it was on 9/11.

But it is stronger and more resilient than it was under bin Laden. And the “war on terror” has helped, not hurt it.

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/al-qaida-is-stronger-today-than-it-was-on-9-11-117718">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

By Christian Taylor Al-Qaeda has recruited an estimated 40,000 fighters since September 11, 2001, when the Osama bin Laden-led extremist group attacked the United States, according to the not-for-profit Council on Foreign Relations.

By Christian Taylor Al-Qaeda has recruited an estimated 40,000 fighters since September 11, 2001, when the Osama bin Laden-led extremist group attacked the United States, according to the not-for-profit Council on Foreign Relations. Despite a United States-led global “war on terror” that has cost $5.9 trillion, killed an estimated 480,000 to 507,000 people and assassinated bin Laden, al-Qaida has grown and spread since 9/11, expanding from rural Afghanistan into North Africa, East Africa, the Sahel, the Gulf States, the Middle East and Central Asia. In those places, Al-Qaeda has developed new political influence – in some areas even supplanting the local government. So how does a religious extremist group with fewer than a hundred members in September 2001 become a transnational terror organisation, even as the world’s biggest military has targeted it for elimination? According to my dissertation research on the resiliency of Al-Qaeda and the work of other scholars, the US “war on terror” was the catalyst for Al-Qaeda’s growth. Bin Laden and the ‘war on terror’ Al-Qaeda was founded in Afghanistan in 1988 in response to the Soviet invasion of that country. For decades, it was a small, weak and uninspiring movement. Bin Laden sought to raise an Islamic coalition of forces to establish a caliphate – an Islamic state governed with strict Islamic law – across the Muslim world. But as late as 1996 he had just 30 fighters willing to die for the cause. For years, bin Laden tried to merge with such extremist groups as Egypt’s Ibn al-Khattab and the Libyan Islamic Fighting group, hoping to create a global Islamist movement. These organisations rejected bin Laden’s overtures. These disparate groups lacked a common enemy that could unite them in al-Qaeda’s fight for an Islamic caliphate. So bin Laden shifted his strategy. He decided to make the United States – a country most Islamic extremist groups see as the enemy of Islam – his main target. In 1998 Al-Qaeda waged successful attacks on the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. In 2000, it bombed the USS Cole, a military ship refuelling in a Yemen harbour, killing 17 sailors. Bin Laden hoped the US would respond with a military invasion into Muslim majority territory, triggering a holy war that would put al-Qaida at the forefront of the fight against these unholy invaders. After Al-Qaeda operatives flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, killing 2,977 people, bin Laden got his wish. The United States invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. Eighteen months later, it invaded Iraq. How Al-Qaeda grew Islamic groups and individual extremists flocked to bin Laden’s cause after 9/11. Al-Qaeda became the nucleus of a global violent Islamist movement, with affiliates across the Middle East and Africa swearing their allegiance. At the same time, the war in Afghanistan was decimating Al-Qaeda’s core operations. Leaders were killed by drone strikes or driven into hiding. The Bush administration claimed killing 75 per cent of Al-Qaeda leadership. Bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders sought refuge in places like the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan and Yemen – remote areas outside the easy reach of US ground forces. To evade US detection, Al-Qaeda had to limit communication between its newly decentralised fronts. That meant the group’s global leadership had to have autonomy to operate relatively independently. Bin Laden expected Al-Qaeda affiliates to adhere to certain core values, strategies and, of course, pursue the objective of establishing an Islamic caliphate. But newly minted regional al-Qaida leaders – people like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq, Ahmed Abdi Godane in Somalia and Nasir al-Wuhayshi in Yemen – enjoyed enough autonomy to pursue their own agendas in these unstable places. Al-Qaeda Iraq, al-Shabaab and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as their groups came to be known, embedded themselves in the local political scene. They began building credibility, establishing alliances and recruiting fighters. By 2015, when bin Laden was killed, al-Qaida was a network of regional caliphates. Today its territory spans from Afghanistan and Pakistan to North Africa, the Middle East and beyond. Manipulation of a sectarian divide Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, headquartered in Yemen, is a case study in how the group now wields its power more locally. Yemen has been in civil war since 2015, when a Houthi Shiite armed group declared war against the country’s Sunni Muslim government. Although this conflict appears sectarian in nature, the Yemen scholar Marieke Brandt argues it is largely about political power – namely, the Yemeni government’s longstanding neglect of the Houthi minority, who come from northern Yemen. Nonetheless, Al-Qaeda – a Sunni terror group – saw political opportunity in Yemen’s civil war. The group has played up religious divisions in the civil war. Using its Arabic magazine, martyrdom videos, poetry and popular songs, Al-Qaeda has endeared itself to the local Sunni people and Yemen’s powerful Sunni tribal leaders. It has also ingratiated itself to Yemen’s Saudi Arabia-backed government and fought alongside Sunni tribal militias to battle the Houthi incursion. The strategy has been remarkably effective for Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula had hundreds of fighters at its founding in 2009. It now has about 7,000 fighters in Yemen, most of them Sunnis recruited from territory the Houthis have attempted to take over. It has planted landmines and bombs across Yemen that have killed hundreds, held journalists hostage and, in 2015, orchestrated the massacre at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris. The US government considers Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to be the most sophisticated and threatening branch of Al-Qaeda. Adapt the tactic, keep the mission In adapting its methods to Yemeni culture, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has made some missteps. In 2011, the group attempted to impose extremely strict Islamic rule over two areas it controlled in south Yemen. Al-Qaeda instituted rigid punishments of the sort common in Afghanistan, such as cutting off the hands of a thief and banning the chewed stimulant plant called khat. These extreme rules got Al-Qaeda run out of town by Sunni tribal militias. The next time Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula asserted its political power over parts of Yemen left ungoverned in the chaos of civil war, in 2015, it did not rule directly over these territories. Rather, it allowed a local council to govern according to their own norms and customs. And it kept the khat market open. Al-Qaeda also paid for long-neglected public services like schools, water and electricity – effectively becoming the state. According to the International Crisis Group, a humanitarian organisation, this softer stance helped garner the acceptance of the local population. That, in turn, ensured al-Qaida could keep using Yemen as a regional headquarters. A similar shift from global to local has occurred in Al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia, Iraq and Syria. Al-Qaeda is no longer a hierarchical organisation taking orders from its famous, charismatic leader, as it was on 9/11. But it is stronger and more resilient than it was under bin Laden. And the “war on terror” has helped, not hurt it. (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Al-Qaeda is stronger today than it was on 9/11

A Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report criticising Saudi Arabia’s anti-money laundering and terrorism finance measures puts the kingdom on the spot 17 years after the 9/11 attacks and casts a shadow over its diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar on the grounds that the Gulf state supports militants.

In a nod to the kingdom, the international watchdog described as “understandable” the fact the kingdom’s “almost exclusive focus of authorities on domestic (terrorist financing) offences means the authorities are not prioritising disruption of support for threats outside the kingdom.”

The 246-page report contrasted starkly with US President Donald Trump’s assessment expressed in his address to the United Nations general assembly. “Following my trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Gulf countries opened a new centre to target terrorist financing. They are enforcing new sanctions. They are working with us to identify and track terrorist networks and taking more responsibility for fighting terrorism and extremism in their own region, Trump said.

Trump, by design or default, did not take into account the flow of substantial amounts of Saudi money to militants in the Pakistani province of Balochistan that borders on Iran. Mounting indications suggest that the Islamic republic’s detractors may be moving to stir unrest among Iran’s ethnic minorities in a bid to change the regime in Tehran.

The flow of funds leaves open the possibility that the kingdom’s laxity in cracking down on funds flowing to extremists beyond its frontiers may be deliberate.

To be sure, Saudi Arabia has been strengthening its anti-money laundering and terrorism finance regime ever since the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington in which the perpetrators were primarily Saudi nationals and Al Qaeda attacks in the kingdom itself in 2003 and 2004.

Writing in Forbes, journalist Dominic Dudley noted that the FATF report may not have taken into account new anti-money laundering and terrorism finance-related laws adopted last year by Saudi Arabia. “The new laws were coming in just as the FATF was conducting its research for this report and it is too soon to judge how effective they have been,” Mr. Dudley said.

Even so, it was only with the ascendancy to the throne of King Salman in 2015 and the rise of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that the kingdom began to review its more than four-decades-long global funding of intolerant, anti-pluralistic, supremacist, ant-Shiite and anti-Iranian ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim groups and institutions.

While financing has been severely curtailed and funding vehicles like the Muslim World League have been refashioned to propagate moderation and inter-faith dialogue, the kingdom, as in the case of Balochistan, continues to support ultra-conservatives where it serves its geopolitical goals.

In what apparently reflected frustration with the kingdom’s progress in countering money laundering and terrorism, FATF did not mince its words in its report. “Saudi Arabia is not effectively investigating and prosecuting individuals involved in larger scale or professional (money laundering] activity” and is “not effectively confiscating the proceeds of crime,” the report said.

FATF suggested that the problem was the kingdom’s implementation of anti-money laundering and terrorism finance measures rather than its legal infrastructure. &nbsp;“Saudi Arabia has a legal framework that provides it with an adequate basis to investigate and prosecute ML (money laundering) activities… Saudi Arabia is not effectively investigating and prosecuting individuals involved in larger scale or professional ML activity. Investigations are often reactive rather than proactive, and tend to be straightforward and single layered.,” the report said.

The report’s wording left the possibility open that poor implementation was the result of either a lack of political will or the fact that there is widespread criticism of Prince Mohammed’s reforms within the bureaucracy and the kingdom’s religious establishment despite a crackdown on any form of dissent.

That possibility gains currency given the fact that FATF acknowledges that “Saudi Arabia has demonstrated an ability to respond to the dynamic terrorism threat it faces in the country. Saudi Arabian authorities have demonstrated that they have the training, experience and willingness to pursue TF (terrorism finance) investigations in conjunction with and alongside terrorism cases.”

The report noted that Saudi Arabia seldom convicted funders of political violence who were not directly involved in attacks. &nbsp;“This includes TF cases in relation to funds raised in Saudi Arabia for support of individuals affiliated with terrorist entities outside the kingdom, particularly outside the Middle-East region, which remains a risk. Saudi Arabia’s overall strategy for fighting terrorist financing mainly focuses on using law enforcement measures to disrupt terrorist threats directed at the kingdom and its immediate vicinity,” the report said.

FATF’s criticism is embarrassing for a country that ever since the 9/11 attacks has been attempting to shed its image of having fuelled militancy, position itself as a leader in the struggle against militancy and extremism, and project itself as a 21st century knowledge hub by liberalizing its strict social and cultural norms, including the recent lifting of the ban on women’s driving.

It is also awkward because the report puts Saudi Arabia in the position of the pot calling the kettle black when it comes to the 15-month-old Saudi-United Arab Emirates-led boycott of Qatar because it allegedly funds and supports militancy. Saudi Arabia’s failure to garner widespread international support for its boycott or force Qatar to concede heightens the awkwardness.

That is even more the case given that Saudi Arabia together with the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt is demanding among other things that Qatar “consent to monthly compliance audits in the first year after agreeing to the demands, followed by quarterly audits in the second year, and annual audits in the following 10 years” – something the kingdom would be unlikely to accept if hypothetically asked in the wake of the FATF report to submit to a similar regime.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

A Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report criticising Saudi Arabia’s anti-money laundering and terrorism finance measures puts the kingdom on the spot 17 years after the 9/11 attacks and casts a shadow over its diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar on the grounds that the Gulf state supports militants.

A Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report criticising Saudi Arabia’s anti-money laundering and terrorism finance measures puts the kingdom on the spot 17 years after the 9/11 attacks and casts a shadow over its diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar on the grounds that the Gulf state supports militants. In a nod to the kingdom, the international watchdog described as “understandable” the fact the kingdom’s “almost exclusive focus of authorities on domestic (terrorist financing) offences means the authorities are not prioritising disruption of support for threats outside the kingdom.” The 246-page report contrasted starkly with US President Donald Trump’s assessment expressed in his address to the United Nations general assembly. “Following my trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Gulf countries opened a new centre to target terrorist financing. They are enforcing new sanctions. They are working with us to identify and track terrorist networks and taking more responsibility for fighting terrorism and extremism in their own region, Trump said. Trump, by design or default, did not take into account the flow of substantial amounts of Saudi money to militants in the Pakistani province of Balochistan that borders on Iran. Mounting indications suggest that the Islamic republic’s detractors may be moving to stir unrest among Iran’s ethnic minorities in a bid to change the regime in Tehran. The flow of funds leaves open the possibility that the kingdom’s laxity in cracking down on funds flowing to extremists beyond its frontiers may be deliberate. To be sure, Saudi Arabia has been strengthening its anti-money laundering and terrorism finance regime ever since the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington in which the perpetrators were primarily Saudi nationals and Al Qaeda attacks in the kingdom itself in 2003 and 2004. Writing in Forbes, journalist Dominic Dudley noted that the FATF report may not have taken into account new anti-money laundering and terrorism finance-related laws adopted last year by Saudi Arabia. “The new laws were coming in just as the FATF was conducting its research for this report and it is too soon to judge how effective they have been,” Mr. Dudley said. Even so, it was only with the ascendancy to the throne of King Salman in 2015 and the rise of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that the kingdom began to review its more than four-decades-long global funding of intolerant, anti-pluralistic, supremacist, ant-Shiite and anti-Iranian ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim groups and institutions. While financing has been severely curtailed and funding vehicles like the Muslim World League have been refashioned to propagate moderation and inter-faith dialogue, the kingdom, as in the case of Balochistan, continues to support ultra-conservatives where it serves its geopolitical goals. In what apparently reflected frustration with the kingdom’s progress in countering money laundering and terrorism, FATF did not mince its words in its report. “Saudi Arabia is not effectively investigating and prosecuting individuals involved in larger scale or professional (money laundering] activity” and is “not effectively confiscating the proceeds of crime,” the report said. FATF suggested that the problem was the kingdom’s implementation of anti-money laundering and terrorism finance measures rather than its legal infrastructure. “Saudi Arabia has a legal framework that provides it with an adequate basis to investigate and prosecute ML (money laundering) activities… Saudi Arabia is not effectively investigating and prosecuting individuals involved in larger scale or professional ML activity. Investigations are often reactive rather than proactive, and tend to be straightforward and single layered.,” the report said. The report’s wording left the possibility open that poor implementation was the result of either a lack of political will or the fact that there is widespread criticism of Prince Mohammed’s reforms within the bureaucracy and the kingdom’s religious establishment despite a crackdown on any form of dissent. That possibility gains currency given the fact that FATF acknowledges that “Saudi Arabia has demonstrated an ability to respond to the dynamic terrorism threat it faces in the country. Saudi Arabian authorities have demonstrated that they have the training, experience and willingness to pursue TF (terrorism finance) investigations in conjunction with and alongside terrorism cases.” The report noted that Saudi Arabia seldom convicted funders of political violence who were not directly involved in attacks. “This includes TF cases in relation to funds raised in Saudi Arabia for support of individuals affiliated with terrorist entities outside the kingdom, particularly outside the Middle-East region, which remains a risk. Saudi Arabia’s overall strategy for fighting terrorist financing mainly focuses on using law enforcement measures to disrupt terrorist threats directed at the kingdom and its immediate vicinity,” the report said. FATF’s criticism is embarrassing for a country that ever since the 9/11 attacks has been attempting to shed its image of having fuelled militancy, position itself as a leader in the struggle against militancy and extremism, and project itself as a 21st century knowledge hub by liberalizing its strict social and cultural norms, including the recent lifting of the ban on women’s driving. It is also awkward because the report puts Saudi Arabia in the position of the pot calling the kettle black when it comes to the 15-month-old Saudi-United Arab Emirates-led boycott of Qatar because it allegedly funds and supports militancy. Saudi Arabia’s failure to garner widespread international support for its boycott or force Qatar to concede heightens the awkwardness. That is even more the case given that Saudi Arabia together with the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt is demanding among other things that Qatar “consent to monthly compliance audits in the first year after agreeing to the demands, followed by quarterly audits in the second year, and annual audits in the following 10 years” – something the kingdom would be unlikely to accept if hypothetically asked in the wake of the FATF report to submit to a similar regime. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Saudi Arabia put on the spot for lax anti-terrorism measures

The United States federal judge&nbspdismissed the motion filed by New York accusing Saudi Arabia of playing a role in 9/11 attacks.

According to report the judge George Daniels dismissing the lawsuits said that the plaintiffs' lawsuit meets the requirements of the to court to proceed under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.

The judge reportedly said that the lawsuit,&nbsp"narrowly articulate a reasonable basis".

Daniel the same judge has rejected same claims in the past.

US Congress passed Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act in 2016 which permits to sue a foreign state if such state was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States Department of State.

In a further hearing, he dismissed the claims against two Saudi Banks and construction company with ties to Osama Bin Laden citing the reason that it lacks jurisdiction.

Thousands of people were killed in a terrorist attack on World Trade Centre in 2001.

In 2001, Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda carried out a coordinated attack on World Trade Centre killing at least 2,996 people and injuring over 6,000 people.

The attack caused infrastructure damage of $10 billion.

The judge reportedly said that the lawsuit, 'narrowly articulate a reasonable basis'

The United States federal judge&nbspdismissed the motion filed by New York accusing Saudi Arabia of playing a role in 9/11 attacks. According to report the judge George Daniels dismissing the lawsuits said that the plaintiffs' lawsuit meets the requirements of the to court to proceed under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. The judge reportedly said that the lawsuit, "narrowly articulate a reasonable basis". Daniel the same judge has rejected same claims in the past. US Congress passed Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act in 2016 which permits to sue a foreign state if such state was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States Department of State. In a further hearing, he dismissed the claims against two Saudi Banks and construction company with ties to Osama Bin Laden citing the reason that it lacks jurisdiction. Thousands of people were killed in a terrorist attack on World Trade Centre in 2001. In 2001, Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda carried out a coordinated attack on World Trade Centre killing at least 2,996 people and injuring over 6,000 people. The attack caused infrastructure damage of $10 billion.

US judge rejects Saudi motion to drop 9/11 charges

A man driving a rented pickup truck mowed down pedestrians and cyclists on a bike path alongside the Hudson River in New York City on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring about a dozen in what authorities said was an <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/world-leaders-condemn-new-york-terrorist-attack-23260">act of terrorism</a>.

The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/police-release-mugshot-of-suspect-in-new-york-truck-attack-23264">29-year-old suspect</a> was shot in the abdomen by police and arrested after he crashed the truck into a school bus and fled his vehicle, authorities said. A US law enforcement source told Reuters the suspect is an Uzbekistan-born immigrant.

CNN and The New York Times, each citing law enforcement sources, reported that investigators found a note left by the suspect claiming he carried out the attack in the name of the Islamic State militant group.

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Five of the dead were Argentine citizens, visiting New York as part of a group of friends celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation, the Argentina Foreign Ministry said. A sixth member of the group was among those hospitalized after the attack, the ministry said in a statement.

The incident marked the greatest loss of life from a suspected terrorist attack in New York since suicide hijackers crashed jetliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan on September&nbsp;11, 2001, killing more than 2,600 people.

Tuesday&#39;s assault, on the far west side of lower Manhattan a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, was reminiscent of several deadly vehicle attacks in Europe during the past 15 months.

&quot;This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror, aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them,&quot; Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference.

A representative of the US&nbsp;Department of Homeland Security similarly called the incident an &quot;apparent act of terrorism.&quot;

Governor Andrew Cuomo said the suspect appeared to have acted alone.

&quot;There&#39;s no evidence to suggest a wider plot or a wider scheme. These are the actions of one individual meant to cause pain and harm and probably death,&quot; Cuomo told the same news conference.

Asked later in a CNN interview whether the suspect had been known to authorities before the attack, Cuomo replied: &quot;It&#39;s too early to give you a definitive answer.&quot;

JOINT TASK FORCE

New York City Police Commissioner James O&#39;Neill declined to publicly identify the driver. However, a source familiar with the investigation told Reuters the driver&#39;s name was Sayfullo Saipov.

CNN and NBC News reported that he entered the United States in 2010.&nbsp;

Multiple media outlets, including CNN, cited police officials as saying that the suspect shouted &quot;Allahu Akbar&quot; - Arabic for &quot;God is greatest&quot; - when he jumped out of his truck.

O&#39;Neill would only say when asked at the news conference that an unspecified comment by the suspect when he exited his truck, and the general circumstances of the assault, led investigators to label the incident a &quot;terrorist event.&quot;

The Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the New York City Police Department and other agencies in a Joint Terrorism Task Force to conduct a probe of the attack, the FBI said in a statement.

ABC News reported that Saipov lived in Tampa, Florida. A check of court records related to a traffic citation that Saipov received in eastern Pennsylvania in 2015 showed he listed addresses then in Paterson, New Jersey, and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

The suspect drove onto the bike path in lower Manhattan at 3:05 pm&nbsp;(1905 GMT) and sped south for about 20 city blocks, running down pedestrians and bicyclists along the way before slamming into the side of the school bus. Two children and two adults were injured in that collision, O&#39;Neill said.

The man then climbed out of this truck with what appeared to be a handgun. Police later recovered a paint-ball gun and a pellet gun from the scene, authorities said.

O&#39;Neill said the pickup truck driven by the suspect had been rented from the Home Depot hardware chain, but declined to say where it was rented.

MANGLED BICYCLES

Mangled and flattened bicycles littered the sunlit bike path, which runs parallel to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River, after the attack.

Of the eight people killed, six were pronounced dead at the scene and two more were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, O&#39;Neill said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said 11 survivors with serious but non-life-threatening injuries were taken to hospitals.

Despite the attack, thousands of costumed Halloween revelers turned out hours later for New York City&#39;s main Halloween parade, which went on as scheduled Tuesday night with a heightened police presence just a few blocks from the scene of the carnage.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump was briefed on the incident, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Trump, who has pressed for a ban on travelers entering the United States from some predominantly Muslim countries, said on Twitter he had ordered Homeland Security officials to &quot;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/new-york-terror-attack-donald-trump-orders-stepped-up-extreme-vetting-23259">step up our already Extreme Vetting Program</a>. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!&quot;

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We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/925490503218589696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The president later said in an official White House statement: &quot;Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of today`s terrorist attack in New York City and their families.&quot; He also paid tribute to the &quot;first responders who stopped the suspect and rendered immediate aid to the victims.&quot;

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Our first responders once again ran towards danger. New York City thanks them. <a href="https://t.co/IrJWveDBfP">pic.twitter.com/IrJWveDBfP</a>
&mdash; Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/925514583292416001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Similar attacks in Europe last year killed scores of people.

On July 14, 2016, a suspect drove a large truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 86 people and injuring hundreds more in an attack for which Islamic State claimed responsibility.

Five months later a Tunisian asylum seeker, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, plowed a truck into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.&nbsp;

A driver rammed his van into crowds in the heart of Barcelona on Aug. 17 this year, killing 13 people, in an attack authorities said was carried out by suspected Islamist militants.

The five Argentine citizens killed in Tuesday&#39;s attack were identified by their home government as Hern&aacute;n Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Dami&aacute;n Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hern&aacute;n Ferruchi, all from the city of Rosario. Their ages were not given.

The 29-year-old suspect was shot in the abdomen by police and arrested after he crashed the truck into a school bus and fled his vehicle.

A man driving a rented pickup truck mowed down pedestrians and cyclists on a bike path alongside the Hudson River in New York City on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring about a dozen in what authorities said was an act of terrorism. The 29-year-old suspect was shot in the abdomen by police and arrested after he crashed the truck into a school bus and fled his vehicle, authorities said. A US law enforcement source told Reuters the suspect is an Uzbekistan-born immigrant. CNN and The New York Times, each citing law enforcement sources, reported that investigators found a note left by the suspect claiming he carried out the attack in the name of the Islamic State militant group. × Five of the dead were Argentine citizens, visiting New York as part of a group of friends celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation, the Argentina Foreign Ministry said. A sixth member of the group was among those hospitalized after the attack, the ministry said in a statement. The incident marked the greatest loss of life from a suspected terrorist attack in New York since suicide hijackers crashed jetliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, killing more than 2,600 people. Tuesday's assault, on the far west side of lower Manhattan a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, was reminiscent of several deadly vehicle attacks in Europe during the past 15 months. "This was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror, aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives who had no idea what was about to hit them," Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference. A representative of the US Department of Homeland Security similarly called the incident an "apparent act of terrorism." Governor Andrew Cuomo said the suspect appeared to have acted alone. "There's no evidence to suggest a wider plot or a wider scheme. These are the actions of one individual meant to cause pain and harm and probably death," Cuomo told the same news conference. Asked later in a CNN interview whether the suspect had been known to authorities before the attack, Cuomo replied: "It's too early to give you a definitive answer." JOINT TASK FORCE New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill declined to publicly identify the driver. However, a source familiar with the investigation told Reuters the driver's name was Sayfullo Saipov. CNN and NBC News reported that he entered the United States in 2010. Multiple media outlets, including CNN, cited police officials as saying that the suspect shouted "Allahu Akbar" - Arabic for "God is greatest" - when he jumped out of his truck. O'Neill would only say when asked at the news conference that an unspecified comment by the suspect when he exited his truck, and the general circumstances of the assault, led investigators to label the incident a "terrorist event." The Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the New York City Police Department and other agencies in a Joint Terrorism Task Force to conduct a probe of the attack, the FBI said in a statement. ABC News reported that Saipov lived in Tampa, Florida. A check of court records related to a traffic citation that Saipov received in eastern Pennsylvania in 2015 showed he listed addresses then in Paterson, New Jersey, and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The suspect drove onto the bike path in lower Manhattan at 3:05 pm (1905 GMT) and sped south for about 20 city blocks, running down pedestrians and bicyclists along the way before slamming into the side of the school bus. Two children and two adults were injured in that collision, O'Neill said. The man then climbed out of this truck with what appeared to be a handgun. Police later recovered a paint-ball gun and a pellet gun from the scene, authorities said. O'Neill said the pickup truck driven by the suspect had been rented from the Home Depot hardware chain, but declined to say where it was rented. MANGLED BICYCLES Mangled and flattened bicycles littered the sunlit bike path, which runs parallel to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River, after the attack. Of the eight people killed, six were pronounced dead at the scene and two more were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, O'Neill said. Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said 11 survivors with serious but non-life-threatening injuries were taken to hospitals. Despite the attack, thousands of costumed Halloween revelers turned out hours later for New York City's main Halloween parade, which went on as scheduled Tuesday night with a heightened police presence just a few blocks from the scene of the carnage. US President Donald Trump was briefed on the incident, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. Trump, who has pressed for a ban on travelers entering the United States from some predominantly Muslim countries, said on Twitter he had ordered Homeland Security officials to "step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!" We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017 × The president later said in an official White House statement: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of today`s terrorist attack in New York City and their families." He also paid tribute to the "first responders who stopped the suspect and rendered immediate aid to the victims." Our first responders once again ran towards danger. New York City thanks them. pic.twitter.com/IrJWveDBfP — Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) November 1, 2017 × Similar attacks in Europe last year killed scores of people. On July 14, 2016, a suspect drove a large truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 86 people and injuring hundreds more in an attack for which Islamic State claimed responsibility. Five months later a Tunisian asylum seeker, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, plowed a truck into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48. A driver rammed his van into crowds in the heart of Barcelona on Aug. 17 this year, killing 13 people, in an attack authorities said was carried out by suspected Islamist militants. The five Argentine citizens killed in Tuesday's attack were identified by their home government as Hernán Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damián Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernán Ferruchi, all from the city of Rosario. Their ages were not given.

Truck kills 8 on New York bike path in US' deadliest attack since 9/11

Fresh evidence in major lawsuit filed against Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 attacks reveals that its embassy in Washington may have funded a &quot;dry run&quot;&nbsp;for the hijacking of the planes by two of Saudi employees used in the attack.

The amended complaint -- filed on behalf of the families of around&nbsp;1,400 victims who died in the terrorist attacks --&nbsp;has alleged that two years prior to the attacks, the Saudi Embassy paid for two Saudi nationals, living undercover&nbsp;as students in the US, to fly from Phoenix to Washington &quot;in a dry run for the 9/11 attacks.&quot;

The findings reinforce&nbsp;the claim that employees and agents of Saudi Arabia directed and aided the 9/11 hijackers and plotters,<a href="http://nypost.com/2017/09/09/saudi-government-allegedly-funded-a-dry-run-for-911/"> a report in the&nbsp;</a>New York Post said.

The report quoted lawyers for the plaintiffs as saying that the court filing has provided new details that shows &quot;a pattern of both financial and operational support&quot; for the 9/11 conspiracy from official sources in Saudi Arabia.

The lead attorney for the 9/11 plaintiffs, Sean Carter said, &quot;We&#39;ve long asserted that there were longstanding and close relationships between the al Qaeda and the religious components of the Saudi government.&quot;

&quot;This is further evidence of that.&quot;

Earlier, rejecting Trump&#39;s continuous attacks on Tehran, Iran&#39;s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif Khonsari said that the US President should rather have discussed how to prevent Saudi Arabia from carrying out another 9/11 attack.

Trump, in his address at the Riyadh Summit, repeatedly slammed Iran claiming that it funds arms, trains militias that spread destruction and chaos and pointed to Iran&#39;s support for Syria&#39;s Bashar al-Assad as he committed &quot;unspeakable crimes.&quot;

The Iranian Foreign Minister emphasised that Trump himself had earlier suggested that Saudi Arabia was behind the 9/11 attacks. Majority of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudi citizens and speculations have suggested that members of the Saudi hierarchy were involved in the attack.

Reportedly, Gulf countries were used to receive funds from banks in Pakistan and UAE, owned by the UAE royal family, to allegedly finance terror strikes in the US&nbsp;in 2001 and Mumbai in 2008.

The September 11 attacks (also referred to as 9/11) were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the US&nbsp;on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001.The attacks killed 2,997 people, injured over 6,000 others, and caused at least USD 10 billion in infrastructure and property damage.

This further reinforces the claim that employees and agents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia directed and aided the 9/11 hijackers and plotters

Fresh evidence in major lawsuit filed against Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 attacks reveals that its embassy in Washington may have funded a "dry run" for the hijacking of the planes by two of Saudi employees used in the attack. The amended complaint -- filed on behalf of the families of around 1,400 victims who died in the terrorist attacks -- has alleged that two years prior to the attacks, the Saudi Embassy paid for two Saudi nationals, living undercover as students in the US, to fly from Phoenix to Washington "in a dry run for the 9/11 attacks." The findings reinforce the claim that employees and agents of Saudi Arabia directed and aided the 9/11 hijackers and plotters, a report in the New York Post said. The report quoted lawyers for the plaintiffs as saying that the court filing has provided new details that shows "a pattern of both financial and operational support" for the 9/11 conspiracy from official sources in Saudi Arabia. The lead attorney for the 9/11 plaintiffs, Sean Carter said, "We've long asserted that there were longstanding and close relationships between the al Qaeda and the religious components of the Saudi government." "This is further evidence of that." Earlier, rejecting Trump's continuous attacks on Tehran, Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif Khonsari said that the US President should rather have discussed how to prevent Saudi Arabia from carrying out another 9/11 attack. Trump, in his address at the Riyadh Summit, repeatedly slammed Iran claiming that it funds arms, trains militias that spread destruction and chaos and pointed to Iran's support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad as he committed "unspeakable crimes." The Iranian Foreign Minister emphasised that Trump himself had earlier suggested that Saudi Arabia was behind the 9/11 attacks. Majority of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudi citizens and speculations have suggested that members of the Saudi hierarchy were involved in the attack. Reportedly, Gulf countries were used to receive funds from banks in Pakistan and UAE, owned by the UAE royal family, to allegedly finance terror strikes in the US in 2001 and Mumbai in 2008. The September 11 attacks (also referred to as 9/11) were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the US on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001.The attacks killed 2,997 people, injured over 6,000 others, and caused at least USD 10 billion in infrastructure and property damage.

Saudi Arabia allegedly funded 'dry run' for 9/11 attack, fresh evidence reveals

US President Barack Obama on Sunday urged Americans on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to embrace the nation&#39;s diversity and not to allow &quot;terrorists&quot; to divide the country. 
 
Extremist organisations like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group &quot;know that they will never be able to defeat a nation as great and as strong as America,&quot; Obama said at a memorial service at the Pentagon, one of the sites attacked on September 11, 2001. 
 
&quot;So instead they try to terrorise, in the hopes that they can stoke enough fear that we turn on each other,&quot; said Obama, who observed a moment of silence on Sunday at the Oval Office in honor of the nearly 3,000 people killed that day. 
 
&quot;And that&#39;s why it is so important today that we reaffirm our character as a nation (...) Our diversity, our patchwork heritage, is not a weakness. It is still and always will be one of our greatest strengths,&quot; he added. 
 
&quot;This is the America that was attacked that September morning. This is the America that we must remain true to.&quot; 
 
In an indirect reference to the controversial anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant campaign rhetoric of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Obama recalled that Americans were &quot;a people drawn from every corner of the world, every color, every religion, every background.&quot; 
 
Obama, who is a Democrat, has repeatedly criticised Trump&#39;s statements, including the billionaire&#39;s proposal in the wake of last December&#39;s mass shooting attack in San Bernardino, California to ban Muslims from entering the United States. 
 
In the 15 years since the Al-Qaeda suicide plane strikes on the Pentagon, New York&#39;s World Trade Center, and in Pennsylvania, &quot;the threat has evolved,&quot; the president said. 
 
&quot;With our stronger defenses, terrorists often attempt attacks on a smaller but still deadly scale,&quot; he added, recalling the Boston marathon bombings, the nightclub massacre in Orlando in June and the carnage in San Bernardino. 
 
(AFP)

Al-Qaeda and Islamic State 'know that they will never be able to defeat a nation as great and as strong as America,' he said

US President Barack Obama on Sunday urged Americans on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to embrace the nation's diversity and not to allow "terrorists" to divide the country. Extremist organisations like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group "know that they will never be able to defeat a nation as great and as strong as America," Obama said at a memorial service at the Pentagon, one of the sites attacked on September 11, 2001. "So instead they try to terrorise, in the hopes that they can stoke enough fear that we turn on each other," said Obama, who observed a moment of silence on Sunday at the Oval Office in honor of the nearly 3,000 people killed that day. "And that's why it is so important today that we reaffirm our character as a nation (...) Our diversity, our patchwork heritage, is not a weakness. It is still and always will be one of our greatest strengths," he added. "This is the America that was attacked that September morning. This is the America that we must remain true to." In an indirect reference to the controversial anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant campaign rhetoric of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Obama recalled that Americans were "a people drawn from every corner of the world, every color, every religion, every background." Obama, who is a Democrat, has repeatedly criticised Trump's statements, including the billionaire's proposal in the wake of last December's mass shooting attack in San Bernardino, California to ban Muslims from entering the United States. In the 15 years since the Al-Qaeda suicide plane strikes on the Pentagon, New York's World Trade Center, and in Pennsylvania, "the threat has evolved," the president said. "With our stronger defenses, terrorists often attempt attacks on a smaller but still deadly scale," he added, recalling the Boston marathon bombings, the nightclub massacre in Orlando in June and the carnage in San Bernardino. (AFP)

Obama on 9/11: Diversity one of America's 'greatest strengths'

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