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Showing posts from March 26, 2017

ISIS Second In-Command Ayad Al-Jumaili Killed In Airstrike: Iraqi Media

BAGHDAD:   Ayad al-Jumaili, believed to be the deputy of ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has been killed in an air strike, Iraqi State TV said on Saturday, citing Iraqi military intelligence. The US-led anti-ISIS coalition said it was unable at the moment to confirm the report. Iraqi TV said Jumaili was killed with other ISIS terrorists in a strike carried out by the Iraqi air force in the region of al-Qaim, near the border with Syria. It gave no detail or date for the raid. "The air force's planes executed with accuracy a strike on the headquarters of Daesh in al-Qaim... resulting in the killing of Ayad al-Jumaili, alias Abu Yahya, the war minister," said state TV, citing a statement from the directorate of military intelligence. Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led coalition, have been battling since October to retake the city of Mosul, ISIS' stronghold in Iraq and the city where Baghdadi declared a 'caliphate' nearly three years ago. Tens of thousands of r

Al-Qaeda & ISIS perfecting laptop bombs to bypass airport security – report

Terrorist organizations are believed to be working on explosives that can fit inside electronic devices and would not be detectable by airport security systems, US intelligence sources told CNN.  Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Qaeda are  reportedly  testing explosive devices that can pass through airport security screening concealed in a laptop or any other electronic device which is large enough. Terrorists might have gained access to airport scanners to test the advanced technology, according to US intelligence officials cited by CNN. “As a matter of policy, we do not publicly discuss specific intelligence information. However, evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, to include smuggling explosive devices in electronics,”  the Department of Homeland Security told CNN in a statement. Bomb-makers are able to modify accumulators for devices, using common household tools, FBI information indicates. Intellige

Tense stand-off in London as police separate far-right & anti-fascist protesters

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Scuffles have broken out between police and protesters at an anti-Islamic terrorism rally and anti-fascist counter demonstrations in central London.  London police were forced to separate the groups that gathered near Trafalgar Square, in a tense stand-off heightened by emotion following the March 22 terrorist attack.   The marches are being held ten days after the Westminster attack that left four people dead and dozens injured after British-born attacker Khalid Masood rammed pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before slamming his vehicle into the gates of the parliament buildings and killing a police officer. READ MORE: Islamophobia up after Westminster attack, say police... but Muslims disagree A counter-protest, organized by anti-fascist groups, is also taking place to oppose the demonstration. “ Both groups are notorious Islamophobes whose concern is not with the victims or their relatives, but only lie in racism ,” United Against Fascism said in a statement.

Seven killed in three separate shootings in Chicago

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Seven people, including a pregnant woman, have been killed in three separate shootings in the US city of Chicago. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said on Friday that the shootings that happened within 12 hours of each other in the South Shore neighborhood were mostly due to drug gang conflict. "I'm angry and sick," Johnson said during a news conference. "You have my promise that CPD will utilize the full weight of our resources to go after the individuals responsible for yesterday's incidents." "The drug industry is what helps them fuel the violence by being able to pay for their activities, as the chief said. They use a lot of money to go out suburbs and purchase guns to wreak havoc on our neighborhood," he stated. In the latest incident, a vehicle pulled alongside a van late on Thursday and opened fire. A man and a woman were shot, and the van crashed into a pole. About 3:30 pm, a gunman walked into a restaurant and shot

US’s own allies sponsoring terror, not Iran: Foreign Ministry

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has called on the United States to pressure its regional allies into abandoning their support for terrorism and not to level “malicious” allegations against the Islamic Republic. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi made the remark on Saturday, reacting to earlier comments by US Defense Secretary James Mattis that Iran continued to sponsor terror. “We urge the American official to — instead of making unwarranted and biased accusations against Iran — oblige some of the countries in the region that are friendly and close to the US and whose unwavering and widespread support for terrorist groups is clearly evident to halt their financial, ideological, and military support for these terrorist-Takfiri outfits,” he said. Washington’s allies in the region, most notably Saudi Arabia, are accused of sponsoring terrorism — both materially and ideologically. Takfirism, which is a characteristic of many terrorist groups operating in the region, is l

UN Agency Suspends Gaza Missions After Hamas Restrictions

JERUSALEM:   A United Nations political agency suspended its missions to Gaza Friday after the Hamas authorities in the Palestinian enclave partly closed the key border crossing into Israel, a source said. The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process (UNSCO) will not send staff to Gaza until further notice, the source close to the organisation told AFP on condition of anonymity, after Hamas imposed tough new restrictions following the assassination of one of its members. The decision was made, the source added, as frustration grows at the negative impact of the restrictions for aid work and Gazan citizens. UNSCO is the key UN agency working on the currently stagnant Palestinian-Israeli peace process, and the restrictions will apply to its head, UN envoy for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov. In previous conflicts between Hamas and Israel UNSCO helped to negotiate ceasefires, and Mladenov reports regularly to the UN Security Council. Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip,

Journalists allege threat of drone execution by US

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Fearing assassination, Al Jazeera's Ahmad Zaidan and independent journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem file US legal complaint. D. Parvaz 01 Apr 2017 06:24 GMT 2 hours ago A MQ-9 Reaper drone taxis at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan in this 2009 photo [Efren Lopez/US Air Force/via Reuters] Washington DC -  Two journalists who say they have been targeted by the United States have filed a complaint against the American government, accusing it of putting them on a "kill list" and demanding to be taken off it. The complaint was filed in the US District Court of the District of Columbia on Thursday on behalf of Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan - a dual Pakistani-Syrian citizen who works for Al Jazeera and Bilal Abdul Kareem, an American who has freelanced for Al Jazeera. It accuses the US government of using information gathered via its  Skynet  surveillance programme, which has been used to guide drone strikes on "terror suspects". The plaintiffs accuse the United S

WikiLeaks’ latest release of CIA cyber-tools could blow the cover on agency hacking operations

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WikiLeaks’ latest release of CIA cyber-tools could blow the cover on agency hacking operations WikiLeaks’ latest disclosure of CIA cyber-tools reveals a technique used by the agency to hide its digital tracks, potentially blowing the cover on current and past hacking operations aimed at gathering intelligence on terrorists and other foreign targets. The release Friday of the CIA’s  “Marble Framework”  comes less than a month after the WikiLeaks dumped onto the Internet a trove of files — dubbed “Vault 7” — that described the type of malware and methods the CIA uses to gain access to targets’ phones, computers and other electronic devices.  [ WikiLeaks says it has obtained trove of CIA hacking tools ] “This appears to be one of the most technically damaging leaks ever done by WikiLeaks, as it seems designed to directly disrupt ongoing CIA operations and attribute previous operations,” said Nicholas Weaver, a computer security researcher at the University of California at Ber

Meet the Hunter Troop: Norway's tough-as-nails female soldiers

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She's marched for miles carrying gear that weighs as much as she does, killed animals for food during survival training and practised jumping out of planes to get behind enemy lines. But Jannike, a pony-tailed 19-year-old from northern Norway, will only concede that she's "pretty tough". She is part of the Hunter Troop, the world's first all-female special forces training programme. "I wanted to do something bigger, the toughest the army could offer me," Jannike says. "I wanted to [see] how far I could push myself." After six months, despite some "really low moments", she is determined to get through the course.  Next up on the training schedule is close-combat fighting and offensive driving. Are these the world's toughest female soldiers? The Jegertroppen, as it is known in Norwegian, was set up in 2014. Military commanders here say that the war in Afghanistan proved an "operational need" existed for hig