Homeland Security News

As the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, and other armed groups expand their efforts to recruit Americans, the federal government is trying to implement a strategy for identifying and eradicating what it describes as violent extremist ideology on the home front. A bill before Congress would establish a new office within the Department of Homeland Security for “countering violent extremism,” known as CVE, while the Obama administration is helping to assemble community-led CVE pilot programs in Los Angeles, Boston and Minneapolis.

Modeled after an effort to fight radicalization in Britain, the pilot programs are joint initiatives of the Department of Justice, of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center. They are grounded in the idea that local networks of clergy, health and social service providers, school districts, and police are better equipped than federal agents to intervene before a member of the community carries out an attack. The programs are also intended to enhance communication between citizens and law enforcement, in the hope of harvesting tips like those that led to the recent arrests of six alleged ISIL recruits in Minnesota. All three cities already had a degree of coordination among local organizations and law enforcement that made them ideal testing grounds for CVE programs, according to the Justice Department.

Source: Al-Jazeera America

A Somali official says Islamic extremist rebels killed two men in a drive-by shooting in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

The al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility for the Wednesday attack claiming that they had killed a nephew of the president and another government official.  Capt. Mohammed Hussein, a senior Somali police officer confirmed that gunmen killed two men Wednesday but said their identities were still unclear.

Despite being forced out of many of their strongholds, al-Shabab rebels still launch lethal attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia, often targeting African Union troops and government officials.

Somali is grappling to restore peace after decades of violence following the 1991 ouster of dictator Siad Barre.

News source: Associated Press

A man has been shot dead after wounding two Israelis in an attack in southern Israel, Israeli officials say.

The suspect approached the Israeli soldier after stepping off a bus and managed to snatch his weapon in a struggle, according to the Ynet news website.  He then ran for shelter in a nearby residential building, where he was reportedly confronted by police and shot dead in an ensuing firefight.

Earlier, a Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man who then shot her in Jerusalem's Old City, police said.  The incidents come amid an upsurge of violence in Israel and the West Bank.

Read more: BBC