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Showing posts from December 17, 2017

4,500 Russians joined 'terrorists' abroad: security service

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Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev (L) and Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov (R) look on prior to President Vladimir Putin's meeting with security and intelligence chiefs from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries at the Kremlin in Moscow on December 19, 2017 (AFP Photo/Yuri KOCHETKOV) Moscow (AFP) - At least 4,500 Russians have left the country to fight with "terrorists" in the Middle East, North Africa and other regions, the head of the FSB security service, Alexander Bortnikov, said on Tuesday. Speaking in an interview with government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Bortnikov said that "as of today, some 4,500 Russians had been identified to have gone abroad to take part in fighting on the side of terrorists." Bortnikov said the security service worked to prevent militants from the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Afghanistan from coming to Russia and stopping Russians fro

Violent Extremism among Central Asians: The Istanbul, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, and New York City Attacks

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Abstract:  Ethnic Uzbeks carried out terrorist attacks in Istanbul, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, and New York City in 2017, making it clear radicalization in the Uzbek and Central Asian global diaspora is a growing global security concern. There has been an increase in Uzbek-language terrorist propaganda, and terrorist groups dislodged from Uzbekistan have built up significant operations in Syria. These groups are exploiting grievances over autocratic regimes and corruption at home to recruit Central Asians and support global terrorist agendas. Central Asian operatives trained in Syria have already returned back to their home region to plot attacks and may pose a wider threat to international security.  Radicalization in the Uzbek and Central Asian global diaspora is becoming a growing threat to international security. In 2017, there were no fewer than four high-profile international terror attacks carried out by ethnic Uzbeks: the Islamic State-directed attack in the early hours of

19 people injured as a car mowed them down on Flinders St, in Melbourne’s CBD

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Police drag a man from the wreckage of the car that crashed into pedestrians in Flinders St. Picture: Channel 7. 19 people were injured and several hospitalised including a small child when a driver with a history of drug use and mental issues mowed them down on Flinders St, in Melbourne’s CBD. Police have suggested that terrorism was not at play.  READ ON BELOW FOR EVENTS AS THEY UNFOLDED THROUGHOUT THE EVENING 6 HOURS AGO  |  SamanthaHutchinson 10.42pm   Deliberate ‘act of evil’ rocks Melbourne Nineteen people have been taken to hospital following a deliberate attack on a Melbourne intersection in which a rogue driver ran a red light and mowed down pedestrians. Victoria Police revealed that fifteen of the victims are in a stable condition, and another four are in a critical condition. Among those hospitalised are the 32-year-old driver of the car used in the attack and the off-duty police officer who arrested him. The man who mowed down and injured 19 pedestrians