Terrorism Watch

The list of attendees at the  London Somalia Conference  was impressive: British Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured above) kicked off the meeting that was meant to serve both as donor and security conference. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, US Defense Secretary James Mattis and  Somalia's new President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed , also known by his nick name Farmajo (cheese),  also joined May in London. The goal of the meeting was to sign off on a "new security partnership for Somalia"; the corner stone of this plan has been on the table since April. That begs the question: What happened to the countless other security partnerships with and for Somalia? Since the early 1990s, there have been 20 Somalia conferences. The last time the international community came together in London in 2012, there was lots of talk, and promises were made, but the conference did not lead to many concrete results. Read more: Somali

LONDON/MADRID: A global cyberattack leveraging hacking tools widely believed by researchers to have been developed by the  US National Security Agency  hit international shipper FedEx, disrupted Britain's health system and infected computers in nearly 100 countries on Friday.  Cyber extortionists tricked victims into opening malicious malware attachments to spam emails that appeared to contain invoices, job offers, security warnings and other legitimate files. The ransomware encrypted data on the computers, demanding payments of $300 to $600 to restore access. Security researchers said they observed some victims paying via the digital currency bitcoin, though they did not know what percent had given in to the extortionists. Read this story in Gujarati   Researchers with security software maker  Avast  said they had observed 57,000 infections in 99 countries with Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan the top targets. The most disruptive attacks were reported in Britain, where hosp

UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Colombia and Head of the UN Mission to Colombia, Jean Arnault (C), shakes hands with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) member Marco Calarca (R), during the delivery of certificates of disarmament in Bogotá on May 12, 2017. (Photo by AFP) A group of Colombian FARC rebels on Friday became the first to formally complete a disarmament process under a peace accord designed to end a half-century-old conflict, United Nations monitors said. “A first group of 12 members of the FARC received today from the UN mission a certificate of completion of individual disarmament, which allows them to formally begin their reintegration into civilian life,” the UN said in a statement. “With this event, a continuous process begins to certify the FARC members who are making the transition to civilian life after laying down their arms,” it added. The FARC is disarming under UN supervision as part of last year’s accord, which the governm

The police arrested seven members of the terror organisation Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Chapainawabganj in the last three days and seized 22 jihadi books from them. Sahidul Hasan Khokon The police in Bangladesh have arrested seven members of the banned militant organisation Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen of Bangaldesh(JMB) from Chapainawabganj district in the last three days.  Addressing a press conference today, the Chapainawabganj Police super MM Mozahidul Islam said, "The police recovered 22 kilograms of power gel, 22 jihadi books and detained seven JMB members from different parts of the district." The accused have been identified as Harun-Or-Rashid (25), Kamal Uddin(32), from Guthail village under Nachole upzila, Nasim Reza Sahin(20), of Barachaki village, Firoz (22) of Srirampur village, Babu (22) of  Kaithapara village under Shibganj upazila, Azizul Haque (38) of Raghbpur village and Abdul Hakim (20) of village Debinagar Fatapara under sadar upazila.

A global cyberattack leveraging hacking tools widely believed by researchers to have been developed by the US National Security Agency hit international shipper FedEx, disrupted Britain's health system and infected computers in nearly 100 countries on Friday. Cyber extortionists tricked victims into opening malicious malware attachments to spam emails that appeared to contain invoices, job offers, security warnings and other legitimate files. The ransomware encrypted data on the computers, demanding payments of $300 to $600 to restore access. Security researchers said they observed some victims paying via the digital currency bitcoin, though they did not know what percent had given in to the extortionists. Researchers with security software maker Avast said they had observed 57,000 infections in 99 countries with Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan the top targets. The most disruptive attacks were reported in Britain, where hospitals and clinics were forced to turn away patients

The airstrike is the latest in a string of similar strikes that claimed the lives of civilians in the process of targeting positions of the Islamic State as Raqqa is the de facto capital of the IS. By:  IANS  | Damascus | Published:May 13, 2017 8:42 am Buildings damaged by airstrikes in Raqqa. (Representational image. Files. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh) At least 12 people were killed and 30 others wounded on Friday by a fresh US-led airstrike on the northern Syrian province of Raqqa, state TV reported. The airstrike hit the Mishleb neighborhood in Raqqa, the report said. The airstrike is the latest in a string of similar strikes that claimed the lives of civilians in the process of targeting positions of the Islamic State as Raqqa is the de facto capital of the IS. A day earlier, at least 11 people were killed and nine others wounded by a US-led strike on one of the villages in the northern countryside of Raqqa. On Wednesday, at least 10 civilians were killed by US-led airstrike a

Neil Prakash, also known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, appeared in IS propaganda videos Australia's most wanted jihadist, Neil Prakash, is likely to be extradited from Turkey within months, PM Malcolm Turnbull has said. Prakash, a senior recruiter for so-called Islamic State, was  arrested in Turkey last year  and placed in jail.  Earlier last year, Australia incorrectly announced that Prakash - who has been linked to foiled terror attacks - had died in a US air strike. The Melbourne-born man will now face trial in Australia, Mr Turnbull said. "We have an extradition treaty with Turkey," Mr Turnbull said on the local Seven Network on Friday.  The confused Buddhist who became a top IS jihadist "It is just as well we do, because otherwise we would not be able to get him back and ensure this man faces justice in Australia." Local media reported that Prakash was likely to face several terror-related charges if successfully extradited. 'Principal

Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin denied Jammu and Kashmir Polices statement blaming three members of his outfit for Lt Umar Fayazs killing. Our militants are not involved in the murder of Lt Umar Fayaz. Such a killing is condemnable, he said in a statement to a local news agency. He blamed Indian agencies for murdering the officer from a pro-freedom family. He added that militants were being blamed for the murder to shield the real face of the Indian agencies. Salahuddin claimed that India was trying to create groups like ISIS to defame militants. There is no role of Al Qaeda, ISIS and Taliban in Kashmirs freedom struggle. The police has released posters of three alleged Hizb men along with photographs and asked people to provide information about those responsible for Fayazs killing. Source:  http://news.rediff.com/commentary/2017/may/13/update-no-role-in-umar-fayazs-killing-says-hizbul-mujahideen-chief/34d5cd714026b874343f52b6bad25cc0

Sarfraz Bugti, Home Minister of Balochistan province, said that the labourers were working on road construction projects when they came under attack. By:  IANS  | Islamabad | Updated: May 13, 2017 3:21 pm Deputy Commissioner of Gwadar Naeem Bazai said that all the victims were natives of Naushero Feroze district, located in neighbouring Sindh province. (Source: Google maps) At least 10 labourers were killed and two injured in two separate firing incidents in Pakistan’s southwest port city of Gwadar in Balochistan on Saturday. The incidents took place in the Pishgan and Ganth Road areas of Gwadar, Geo News reported. Unidentified assailants on motorcycles opened indiscriminate fire on the labourers and fled the scene. Sarfraz Bugti, Home Minister of Balochistan province, said that the labourers were working on road construction projects when they came under attack. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. A search operation by local paramilitary forces was u

By Barbara Plett Usher   BBC News EPA Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moallem voiced his government's commitment to the Astana deal but said it is "premature" to talk about the extent of its success A few months ago I wrote about the state department's take  on stabilisation zones in Syria . To recap: these would be areas where security and local governance could be restored, thus allowing the return of refugees. And this would be about reducing the violence and setting the stage for a political settlement, not bolstering the opposition in the civil war. So a bit of an update: Russia has fleshed out these ideas with Iran and Turkey and all three have signed on to them in the Astana Agreement. It aims to set up four safe zones across the country prohibiting both Syrian government air strikes and rebel attacks.  But crucial details are still being finalised, such as who exactly would enforce the ceasefire and how.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov w

An Afghan official says at least three civilians have been killed in the capital Kabul after their vehicle was attacked with a sticky bomb. Kabul: An Afghan official says at least three civilians have been killed in the capital Kabul after their vehicle was attacked with a sticky bomb. Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, said the victims of the Saturday attack are two female government employees from the water supply department and a small child.  A sticky bomb is a type of grenade designed to be attached to a vehicle. Danish says the driver of the vehicle was wounded. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, 10 insurgents including a Talbian-appointed deputy governor and district chief were killed a day earlier in northern Samangan province, Danish said. Source:  http://zeenews.india.com/world/car-attacked-with-sticky-bomb-in-kabul-three-civilians-killed-afghan-official-2004743.html

Osama bin Laden's son Hamza is poised to lead a stronger, larger al Qaeda and is "bent on avenging" his father's death, according to a former FBI agent familiar with the personal letters seized in a dramatic US raid that killed the al Qaeda leader in Pakistan's Abbottabad. Washington: Osama bin Laden's son Hamza is poised to lead a stronger, larger al Qaeda and is "bent on avenging" his father's death, according to a former FBI agent familiar with the personal letters seized in a dramatic US raid that killed the al Qaeda leader in Pakistan's Abbottabad. Hamza, about 28 year old now, wrote those letters when he was 22 and had not seen his father bin Laden in several years. Ali Soufan, the former FBI agent who was the bureau's lead investigator of al Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks, told CBS News the letters reveal Hamza to be a young man who adores his father and wants to carry on his murderous ideology. The letters collected in the

A cybersecurity researcher appears to have discovered a "kill switch" that can prevent the spread of the WannaCry ransomware -- for now -- that has caused the cyberattacks wreaking havoc globally, they told AFP Saturday. The researcher, tweeting as @MalwareTechBlog, said the discovery was accidental, but that registering a domain name used by the malware stops it from spreading. "Essentially they relied on a domain not being registered and by registering it, we stopped their malware spreading," @MalwareTechBlog told AFP in a private message on Twitter. The researcher warned however that people "need to update their systems ASAP" to avoid attack. "The crisis isn't over, they can always change the code and try again," @MalwareTechBlog said. Friday's wave of cyberattacks, which affected dozens of countries, apparently exploited a flaw exposed in documents leaked from the US National Security Agency. The attacks used a techn

Sam Levin Theresa May: 'This is not targeted at the NHS, it’s an international attack' – video Graham Russell  (now)  Julia Carrie Wong  and  Kevin Rawlinson  (earlier) Saturday 13 May 2017  06.44 BST 15m ago   06:44 Here is a  fuller read on the plight of the NHS  as we enter day two of the crisis for the organisation, which appears by far the biggest victim of the cyber-attack. Patients at hospitals and GP surgeries in England and Scotland will face a weekend of disruption, as delays that began on Friday spill over into the weekend. The shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth urged the government to be “clear about what’s happened”, describing the attack as “terrible news and a real worry for patients”. 1h ago   05:52 The notoriously difficult process of tracking down the source of the attack begins. Ciaran Martin, the head of the UK’s cyber security agency, told the BBC on Friday night: “It’s important to understand that cyber at