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Showing posts from April 21, 2019

Social media fuelling rise of 'new generation of extremism' in Alberta, report says

Hundreds of Albertans linked to extremist movements in the province are using social media to connect and promote their views, according to a new report. The study, conducted through the Organization for the Prevention of Violence (OPV) —  a non-government organization that works to "prevent radicalization and challenge extremist world views" through public awareness and research — looked at several extreme movements in Alberta, and quantified their rise or decline.  "There is a diversity of types of ideologies that can produce violence, extremism, and hate in Alberta," said OPV executive director John McCoy. Alberta appears to attract many extreme groups, McCoy said. "We can see pretty clearly that Alberta is producing a disproportionate number of extremists." Three Percenters are Canada's 'most dangerous' extremist group, say some experts Hate-motivated crimes likely under-reported in Alberta, police say Edmonton police, anti-vi

Extremism in all forms must be defeated: Prince William

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Christchurch:  In an emotional meeting with survivors of the New Zealand mosques massacre, Britain's Prince William appealed Friday for "extremism in all forms" to be defeated. About 160 people gathered at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to meet the prince who had earlier told first responders to the March 15 carnage that when "a good friend" is in need "you travel to their place and you put your arms around them." Six weeks to the day from when a self-styled white supremacist killed 50 people and wounded just as many in two Christchurch mosques, the prince said he stood with the people of New Zealand, the people of Christchurch and the Muslim community. "An act of violence was designed to change New Zealand, but instead, the grief of a nation revealed just how deep your wells of empathy, compassion, warmth and love truly run," the prince said after arriving at the mosque from a meeting with hospital staff who had tended to th

New Zealand, France announce bid to end violent extremism online

New Zealand  and  France  announced a joint effort Wednesday to bring countries and tech companies together in an attempt to end the ability of  social media  to organise and promote  terrorism  and extreme  violence. The meeting will take place in  Paris  on May 15, and will be co-chaired by  New Zealand  Prime Minister  Jacinda Ardern  and French  President  Emmanuel Macron. Ardern said the March 15 terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, in which 50 Muslim worshippers were killed, saw  social media  used "in an unprecedented way as a tool to promote an act of  terrorism  and hate". The mosque attacks were live-streamed on the Internet and showed distressing footage of the gunman him firing indiscriminately at men, women and children. Nearly six weeks after the massacre,  social media  sites are still struggling to stamp out copies of the gunman's video. "We're calling on the leaders of tech companies to join with us and help achieve our g

New government will need to address extremism

A new report on extremism in Alberta paints a less-than-flattering picture. Apparently, we have a disproportionate amount of extremist movements, a rogues gallery that runs the gamut from white supremacists to anarchists to ISIS sympathizers, with stops in between. That news was in a report from the Organization for the Prevention of Violence, which was given federal grant to look into the matter. For those following the news, the findings aren’t that surprising. When it comes to Alberta, there is concern with radicalized individuals sympathetic to ISIS, anti-government extremists, left-wing extreme groups, so-called patriot groups and the more brazen white supremacists. All of the groups called out in the report carry with them varying degrees of concern related to violence or threats of violence. The positive news is that in the grand scheme of things, at most, according to the numbers, we’re talking about a few hundred at most, but as shown by the actions of a white

Shooting breaks out in eastern Sri Lankan town during police raid

A security officer stands guard outside St Anthony's Shrine in Colombo. (Reuters photo) COLOMBO: Sri Lankan police are trying to track down 140 people believed linked to  Islamic State , which claimed responsibility for the  Easter  Sunday  suicide bombings that killed 253  , as shooting erupted in the east during a raid. Muslims in  Sri Lanka  were urged to pray at home after the State Intelligence Services warned of possible car bomb attacks,  amid fears of retaliatory violence.  And the US Embassy in Sri Lanka urged its citizens to avoid places of worship over the weekend after authorities reported there could be more attacks targeting religious centres.  Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith told reporters he had seen a leaked internal security document warning of further attacks on churches and there would be no Catholic masses this Sunday anywhere on the island.  The streets of Colombo were deserted on Friday evening, with many people leaving offices early am

After Sri Lanka: the best books to understand modern terrorism

Though the first suicide bombing was in 1881, 40% of those killed by them have died in the last five years. Iain Overton picks the best books that explain why T error is not a new phenomenon. The 19th-century invention of dynamite by a man who is better known for his peace prize – Alfred Nobel – and the adoption of that explosive material by young radicals, with visions of utopia burning in their eyes, meant that Victorian papers were filled with tales of civilians killed by bombs thrown into restaurants across Europe’s capitals. Suicide bombers also long predate Islamic State – who on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the attacks in Sri Lanka over the Easter weekend. The first suicide bombing was in 1881 (it killed the tsar of Russia), while the Chinese military invented the suicide belt when deploying their “Dare to Die Battalions” against the Russians and Japanese in the 1930s. However, 40% of those killed by suicide bombs have died in the last five years. To put it another

Credit To Indian Army As 69 Terrorists Killed So Far This Year, Including 25 From JeM

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A total of 69 terrorists have been killed and 12 apprehended in Jammu and Kashmir; 41 out of these 69 have been killed post the Pulwama attack in February 14, the GOC, 15 Corps, KJS Dhillon told during a press conference.  In Srinagar, the press conference was held and it was presided by the state Director General of Police, Dilbagh Singh, IG, Kashmir, SP Pani, GOC KJS Dhillon and CRPF IG, Zulfikar Hasan. During the press conference, it was said that the law and order situation in the state has improved.  GOC, 15 Corps, Dhillon said that 41 terrorists have been killed post Pulwama attack in which 40 of CRPF soldiers were martyred and out of these 41 terrorists, 25 belonged Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and 13 of them were from Pakistan. The CRPF convoy was attack by a suicide bomber carrying explosive in an SUV which left 40 soldiers dead and many others injured. India and Pakistan had come to close to war after IAF carried out attacks inside Pakistan on JeM training faci

US grants exemptions to new sanctions on Iran’s elite military force

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The United States has announced exemptions to new sanctions imposed on Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), easing foreign dealings with the elite military force, which Washington blacklisted earlier this month. Under the waivers outlined by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in two notices on Wednesday, foreign governments and businesses that have dealings with the IRGC and its affiliates will not be subject to a ban on US travel. Pompeo said in the notices published in the Federal Register that he decided to waive the travel bans in US foreign policy and national security interests. The exceptions would allow those who work with the US in Iraq and Lebanon to maintain their relations with the IRGC without fear of repercussions. Earlier this month, the US designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist group,” making the elite Iranian military force the first agency of a foreign government that has ever been blacklisted. Under US immigration law, foreig

Sri Lanka Bombings: Why Five-Star Hotels are Favourite Targets of Terrorist Attackers

Sri Lanka is still reeling from the horrific terrorist attacks this past Easter Sunday, killing over 300 people, and injuring hundreds more. The attacks, carried out by suicide bombers, struck at six Colombo locations in the first series of blasts, targeting three churches and three beachfront 5-star hotels. Subsequent bomb blasts took place while more explosives were recovered in what was clearly intended to be coordinated multi-city attack. While the investigation into the reprehensible attack has already begun, there is much for authorities to determine. The death toll, 359 at the time of this writing, may increase, as rescue workers sift through debris and the wounded succumb; the exact nature of explosives is still being determined as is the nature of the individuals that used them; the number of followers and assets that the terrorist group responsible for the violence is still to be confirmed.  Not much is known about many things, but one fact is chillingly

‘White Helmets’ plotting new gas attack in Syria: Russia

Russia warns that the so-called White Helmets group in Syria are plotting yet another false flag chemical attack against civilians in the country and plan to frame Damascus. Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov made the warning during a UN Security Council session on Wednesday, saying the plot was meant to be carried out by the so-called White Helmets in Syria’s Idlib Province, the last major militant stronghold in the Arab country. “The pseudo-humanitarian personnel of the White Helmets continue to prepare ever new provocations in order to accuse the lawful authorities of using toxic agents,” Safronkov said, adding, “We see what is going on.” The White Helmets group is known for its coordination with terror outfits in Syria to carry out staged chemical attacks aimed at falsely incriminating Syrian government forces and inventing pretexts for possible acts of aggression on army troops by a United States-le

Yemeni combat drone targets Saudi mercenaries’ command center in Aden: Report

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Yemeni army soldiers, backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees, have launched an airstrike against a command center of Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to Yemen's former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, in the country’s southern province of Aden. A Yemeni military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Yemeni soldiers and their allies attacked the military site in the al-Burayqah district of the province on Thursday, using a domestically-designed and -manufactured Qasef K2 (Striker K2) combat drone. Later in the day, Yemeni troopers and fighters from Popular Committees carried out an ambush against vehicles carrying Saudi-paid militiamen on the outskirts of al-Sadis area in Saudi Arabia's southern border region of Najran, killing or injuring those on board. Yemeni soldiers loyal to the Houthi Ansarullah movement line up during a graduation ceremony for a new batch of cadets in the northwestern city of Sa’ada on April 20, 2019, in a sh

The two millionaire brothers behind Sri Lanka’s suicide attacks that killed 359

Sri Lankan housewife Fathima Fazla thought of her neighbours in the grand three-storey home across the street as the wealthy celebrities of her humble Colombo suburb. She had no idea how infamous they would become. Two brothers who lived at the white house on Mahawela Gardens have emerged as key players in suicide attacks on Easter Sunday that killed more than 350 people and stunned an island state that had enjoyed a decade of relative peace. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks on three churches and four hotels. Inshaf Ibrahim, a 33-year-old copper factory owner, detonated his explosive device at the busy breakfast buffet of the luxury Shangri-La hotel, a source close to the family said. Read:  Terror group NTJ behind Sri Lanka bombing wanted separate Islamic confederate in region When police went later that day to raid the family home, his younger brother Ilham Ibrahim detonated a bomb that killed him, his wife and the coup

‘US-led forces killed 1,600 civilians in Syria’s Raqqah’

Amnesty International and another high-profile war monitoring group say the US-led coalition allegedly fighting the Takfiri terror group of Daesh has remarkably understated the deaths its campaign caused among civilians in the northern Syrian city of Raqqah in 2017, saying the coalition killed more than 1,600 civilians during its assault on the city. The coalition waged a no-holds-barred assault against the city in 2017 under the pretext of dislodging the terrorists, who had named the city as their so-called headquarters. Amnesty and Airwars, a London-based group set up in 2014 to monitor the impact of the US-led campaign, said the onslaught had killed more than 1,600 civilians , 10 times the toll acknowledged by the coalition. The groups said they spent 18 months researching civilian deaths, including two months on the ground in Raqqah. "Our conclusive finding after all this is that the US-led coalition's mil

Saudi executed 37 people and all UK did was shrug

It was little over a year ago that the Saudi Arabian crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, made a high-profile visit to London. During his three-day stay he was treated to  lunch with the Queen , dinner with Princes William and Charles, and  photos on the steps of Downing Street . The charm-offensive didn’t stop in the UK. He then went on to visit other European capitals, before finally going to the States. While in the States he visited president Trump in Washington, before heading to Los Angeles to meet some of the giants of technology, business and entertainment. The pictures, which were broadcast all over the world, were supposed to project the image of a man who represented a “modernizing” and progressive force in a country desperately in need of reform. A year later and the coziness, glamour and praise couldn’t look more hollow. Last night, the Saudi authorities executed 37 people. Many of them were killed following trials that Amnesty has said relied on  confes

After Terror Attacks, Sri Lanka To Stop Visa-On-Arrival For Citizens Of 39 Countries

Colombo:  Sri Lanka on Thursday suspended its plans to grant visas on arrival to citizens of 39 countries after the devastating Easter suicide bombings that killed nearly 360 people. "Although arrangements were in place to issue visas on arrival for citizens of 39 countries, we have now decided to hold it for the time being in consideration of the current security situation," Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said in a statement. "Investigations have revealed foreign links to the attacks and we don't want this facility to be abused," Mr Amaratunga added. The visas on arrival pilot programme was part of a larger initiative to increase tourist arrivals to the country during the six-month off-season period from May to October. The island nation received 7,40,600 foreign tourists in the first three months of 2019. Around 450,000 Indians visited Sri Lanka last year and the island nation was expecting the total Indian tourist arrivals to cross one m

Terror group NTJ behind Sri Lanka bombing wanted separate Islamic confederate in region

Central agencies responsible for countering the influence of Islamic State in India have found that Sri Lanka-based National Towheed Jama’at (NTJ), a Tamil Nadu-based outfit and some people from Kerala were in regular touch for over a year to create a “separate Islamic confederation” in the region, a counterterrorism official claimed. The official, however, said the Tamil Nadu-based organisation doesn’t seem to be involved in Sri Lanka attacks but it was in touch with radical elements, an angle which needs to be probed further. The IS on Tuesday owned up the Easter Sunday bombing in the island nation that killed more than 350 people. The NTJ was led by Maulvi Zahran Bin Hashim, the alleged mastermind of Sunday attacks. He blew himself up at Shangri La hotel in Colombo, primary investigations have revealed. The Indian agencies are also working on a Bangladeshi link to the-IS inspired modules that have tried or are trying to establish a base in south India. The National Investiga

Has Islamist extremism arrived in Sri Lanka?

Michael Kugelman is deputy director and senior associate for South Asia with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. You can follow him on Twitter @michaelkugelman. The views expressed are his own. (CNN)  —  More than 48 hours after the Easter Sunday massacre in Sri Lanka, a devastatingly well-coordinated assault that targeted churches and hotels around the country, the shock still lingers.  It was by far the deadliest attack to strike Sri Lanka since the dark days of its brutal 26-year civil war, which ended in 2009. And it shattered the relative stability that had prevailed in the country in the subsequent decade.  Information provided by Sri Lankan officials has linked a small and little-known extremist outfit named  National Tawheed Jamath  (NTJ) to the attack. Indeed, NTJ is no jihadist juggernaut; it's an entity mostly known for  defacing Buddhist statues .  It's downright terrifying that such a modest and under-the-radar