The 22,000 ISIL documents obtained by German intelligence make fascinating reading. Above all, they demonstrate the terror group’s meticulous record keeping. Most of the documents are questionnaires of prospective recruits, detailing their personal details, as well as level of education, any previous fighting experience and even what “role” they are seeking in the group.
The importance of such documents, which were leaked by a disillusioned former extremist, is obvious. Not only does German intelligence now know the names of recruits, it also knows which ISIL member recommended them (another question) and where else they fought, allowing links between recruits to be traced.
Moreover, it will sow discord within the ranks of ISIL itself. With so many of its recruits exposed – some of whom will have risen to important positions within the group – ISIL will have to start purging some of those exposed, a process that will trigger infighting and defections.
At the same time, there is no room for complacency. The files date from the end of 2013, before the group declared a “caliphate” and before some of their significant victories such as the takeover of Mosul in Iraq. It is likely that recruitment only increased after those events, meaning there are many more ISIL members who are still unknown. To take one example: the documents list 16 British citizens, but UK intelligence has suggested hundreds may have travelled to Syria. In the very short term, the risk of attacks has just increased – if any of those named are in European or Arab countries, there is now a good reason to carry out attacks before the security services come knocking.
Moreover, this cache of documents, while significant, actually helps ISIL. With governments in Europe and the Arab world now aware of the exact identities of their citizens in ISIL, there is no way back for these individuals. Even if they have become disillusioned with the group, since they cannot re-enter their lives back home, they have little choice but to keep fighting. The leak has actually made ISIL stronger in some respects.
The overall effect, then, will at least be mixed. While ISIL may be weakened in the short-term – and particularly will have its recruitment networks weakened – in the medium-term its fighters will have fewer options but to stay with the group. The battle against ISIL is far from over, even if a significant blow has been dealt.
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Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
More on Quran memorisation:
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
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Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels