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Showing posts from May 19, 2019

Sri Lanka police arrest 5 men linked to group believed to be responsible for Easter Sunday attacks

The Sri Lankan police on Friday said that they had arrested five suspects, who are allegedly linked to banned extremist group National Thowheed Jamaath and its leader Zahran Hashim, in Horowpathana, Daily Mirror reported. Sri Lankan investigators had blamed the National Thowheed Jamath for the Easter Sunday, which had claimed 253 lives. The Islamic State group, however, had claimed responsibility for the terror attacks. The five arrested accused, the police said, include a development officer attached to the Horowpathana Divisional Secretariat, a district government school teacher, two teachers from a school in Kiwulekada and a resident of Kebithigollewa. The investigators claimed that the suspects had delivered sermons that had extremist content in Anuradhapura and Trincomalee. The National Thowheed Jamaath had allegedly sent money to the suspects via one of the main accused in the Easter Sunday attacks, who is out of the country, the police said. Me

Deadly Syrian strikes as army battles rebel counterattack

Air raids by Syrian warplanes in the country's restive northwest killed at least eight civilians, including two children, as troops and rebels battled for a town that has changed hands over the past two weeks. Thursday's air raids followed an intensification of fighting in the last rebel-held stronghold in the country after a coalition of armed groups launched a counter-offensive two days earlier aimed at regaining territory lost to government forces. More than 200,000 people in the region have fled since Syrian and allied Russian forces renewed a military campaign to rid the northwest of various rebel groups.  Troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad  seized control of Kafr Nabuda in Hama province on May 8 but were repelled by rebel fighters on Wednesday. More than 100 combatants have been killed in the fighting around the town since Tuesday. Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly the al-Qaeda wing in Syria, alongside other rebels control mu

Suspected Indonesian Rioters "Pledged Support" For ISIS: Report

Jakarta:  Two men detained by Indonesian police for rioting this week were part of a group that had pledged support to the ISIS militant group and intended to carry out jihad, or holy war, police said on Thursday. Two nights of rioting and clashes between protesters and police in the capital, Jakarta, followed the release of official election results which showed President Joko Widodo defeated his rival, Prabowo Subianto, in last month's presidential race. Six killed as Indonesia protests turn deadly Indonesia has introduced curbs on social media in a bid to prevent the spread of hoaxes, some calling for violent post-election attacks, and quell two days of protests in the capital. "They intended to carry out jihad during May 21 and 22 protests," national police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal, said of the two, adding they belonged to a group called Garis, which had pledged support for ISIS. Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/suspected-indonesian-riot

Pak Teacher Of 'American Taliban' Calls Him "Pure Person", Praises Release

Islamabad, Pakistan:  A Pakistani religious teacher who spent six months with "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh has hailed his release, describing him as a "good person" who became upset over the situation in Afghanistan, Kashmir and Palestine. Lindh symbolised betrayal for the US when he was captured, bearded and dishevelled, while fighting for the Taliban in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif in 2001. His release from prison on Thursday -- three years before the end of his 20-year sentence -- has re-awakened memories of the September 11 attacks and underscored the tragedy of the US invasion of Afghanistan, where civilians are paying a deadly price as the war grinds on. President Donald Trump said he was upset about the release, but government lawyers had told him there was no legal way to keep him in prison. "We'll be watching him and watching him closely," Trump told reporters. But Mohammad Iltimas, who taught Lindh for six mon

Zakir Musa affiliated with Al-Qaeda killed in South Kashmir encounter: Officials

Srinagar : Zakir Musa, the so-called chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, was killed in an encounter with security forces in a village in South Kashmir's Tral, officials confirmed Friday. A defence spokesman said one militant was killed in the operation at Dadsara in Tral area of Pulwama district Thursday night. "The (slain) terrorist was identified as Zakir Musa after the body was recovered Friday morning. Weapons and war-like stores were recovered from the encounter site," defence spokesman Rajesh Kalia said, adding that the operation has been called off. Senior police officials said security forces had launched a cordon and search operation at Dadsara village and when the terrorists tried to escape, a gunfight broke out. They said efforts were made to make them surrender but the request fell on deaf ears and the holed up terrorists started lobbing grenades using a launcher. The officials said more team of securi

Seven hurt in suspected package bomb blast in France’s Lyon

At least seven people were wounded Friday by a suspected package bomb blast on a pedestrian street in the heart of Lyon, southeast France, the local prosecutors’ office said. At least seven people were wounded Friday by a suspected package bomb blast on a pedestrian street in the heart of Lyon, southeast France, the local prosecutors’ office said. The area where the explosion occurred, on the narrow strip of land between the Saone and Rhone rivers in the historic city centre, has been evacuated, according to AFP journalists at the scene. None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening, a spokesman for the prosecutors’ office said. Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/seven-hurt-in-suspected-package-bomb-blast-in-france-s-lyon/story-uCRCZyvY7lf8Cdk7t7OWgK.html

Bomb at Sunni Muslim mosque in Pakistan kills two, wounds 14

A bomb at a mosque in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday killed two worshippers and wounded 14, officials said. The blast went off at the Sunni Muslim mosque when people were offering Friday prayers. “There were about 100 people there when a bomb exploded very close to the prayer leader,” said police officer Abdul Qayum. There was no claim of responsibility. Quetta is the capital Baluchistan province which has been plagued for decades by a separatist insurgency. The separatists usually attack energy infrastructure and the security forces. Sunni Muslim militants also operate in the province. They usually attack government targets and members of the Shi’ite Muslim minority. Attacks on Sunni mosques are rare. Police said they were investigating. Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/bomb-at-sunni-muslim-mosque-in-pakistan-kills-two-wounds-14/story-FDgUAF7CYHC1bsJCHylAqJ.html

Yemen's Houthi rebels attack Saudi's Najran airport - again

Yemen 's Houthi rebels said they targeted the airport in the Saudi Arabian city of Najran - the third attempt to hit the facility in a week. The group's Al Masirah TV reported the drone attack on Thursday came as the  Houthis said they would step up their offensive against Saudi targets. The Saudi-Emirati-led coalition fighting the armed group said the drone was intercepted by the kingdom's air defences.  "An explosive-laden drone sent by the terrorist Houthi militia to target Najran airport - which is used by thousands of civilians daily -  was intercepted and destroyed by the Saudi air force," coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki was quoted by  the Saudi Press Agency  as saying. Maliki also warned of a "response", but did not elaborate. The attack targeted a Patriot missile air defence system, Al Masirah TV said. An armed drone sent on Tuesday hit a weapons depot at the same airport, setting off a blaze, according to Al Masira

300 LeT terrorists active in Afghanistan: US report

The US department of defense has included Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) among the three terrorist organisations posing the greatest threat to foreign troops in Afghanistan, with at least 300 LeT operatives active in the war-torn country. LeT, designated a global terror organisation by the US and the UN, was responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people. The US has offered a $10 million bounty for the group’s founder, Hafiz Saeed, whose bid to be removed from a list of sanctioned terrorists was rejected by the UN in March. There have been reports of LeT cadres fighting alongside the Afghan Taliban for more than a decade, though the report by the lead inspector general of the US department of defense’s office of inspector general is perhaps the first public acknowledgement of the threat posed by the group in Afghanistan. The report for the period from January 1 to March 31 summarises significant events related to Operation Freedom’s Sentin

Terror-funding investigation uncovers syndicate that allegedly imported $9m worth of illegal tobacco

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Terror-funding investigation uncovers syndicate that allegedly imported $9m worth of illegal tobacco Police investigating terrorism funding have dismantled multiple layers of an organised crime syndicate that allegedly imported more than seven tonnes of illegal tobacco worth $9 million, with the arrest of eight men across south-west Sydney. Strike force investigators descended on shop fronts and residential properties on Tuesday, executing 16 search warrants as part of a joint agency investigation into terrorism funding. Eight men have been arrested over the alleged importation of more than seven tonnes of illegal tobacco. Credit: Police Media Two men, aged 38 and 39, were arrested at a café at Sydney Olympic Park around 8.15am, while a further six men - aged between 22 and 42 - were arrested later in the day. It is alleged those targeted included the mastermind of the syndicate, as well as mid-level participants, including shop owners where the illegal tobacco was all

Terror Groups Are Increasingly Using Cryptocurrencies, Senior Russian Official Warns

The director of  Russia’s federal security service, the FSB, has warned that terror groups are increasingly being financed through  cryptocurrencies , Russian news site RBK reported on May 21. FSB head Alexander Bortnikov said global terrorist organizations have been mastering the use of virtual currencies for some time, along with encrypted communication tools that enable them to evade security services. He added: “Electronic payment systems and cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by terrorists to move money received from some states and organizations that support the global terrorist network.” According to Bortnikov, terror groups are also raising funds through the slave trade and by illegally selling oil. In late April, the co-founder of Chainalysis  warned that the crypto industry was beginning to see the beginnings of terrorism financing. Jonathan Levin added that bitcoin ( BTC ) was “by far the favorite” for hackers and criminals, as it was

Terror trail-II: How south India became terror central

Even as India and its security apparatus grapple with the imponderables that emerge constantly with Pakistan's proxy war in Kashmir Valley, the death by a thousand cuts asymmetrical warfare takes its toll on our forces continuously. The rapid use of the dark web and the onion router (TOR which provides annonymity) to subliminally indoctrinate the youth in the Valley with a bent towards Wahhabi Salafisim is not lost on our sleuths. However, that does not for a moment mean that our deep state can take its eyes off the ball in the rest of the country. India's vast swathe of counter-terrorism grid which combines the skills of hardcore investigation, dogged information reporting and ground level intel gathering on knowing who your adversary picks up every nano or sliver or nugget of information and processes it. Following the 3D approach of detect, deter and destroy, in the wake of 26/11, it is a much more robust network.  While RAW provides the ext

Terror Hotspot Blacklist Closes Jihadists' Legal Loophole - Ex-UK Intel Officer

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Earlier, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid has said that British security services have foiled 19 major terrorist attacks over the past two years. Moreover, Javid has unveiled a plan to put terror hotspots on a travel blacklist and thus it would be an offense for UK nationals to be there without a legitimate reason. Sputnik has discussed the issue with Philip Ingram, a former British senior intelligence and security officer. Sputnik: British jihadists who travel to Syria will face up to ten years imprisonment. How, do you think, this plan may be implemented in practice? Philip Ingram: This plan is merely closing a loophole in previous legislation now covered in the latest counterterrorism bill, that allowed individuals to travel to banned parts of the world where their only motivation is to participate in illegal activities but avoid prosecution. It will serve as an increased deterrent for those thinking of traveling to proscribed locations as they will know before depa

Dutch police arrest Syrian suspected of war crimes, terror

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch prosecutors say police have arrested a Syrian on suspicion of war crimes and terrorism in his home country where he allegedly was a commander in the former al-Qaida affiliate the Nusra Front. Prosecutors say in a statement that the suspect, a 47-year-old man living in the Netherlands since 2014 on a temporary asylum visa, was arrested Tuesday in the southern town of Kapelle following a tip from German police. Law enforcement officers seized a computer, smartphone and documents during a search of the suspect's house. Dutch prosecutors say that German police simultaneously searched six homes of suspected members of the Nusra battalion led by the man arrested in the Netherlands. The suspect is due to be brought before an investigating judge in The Hague on Friday. Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/dutch-police-arrest-syrian-suspected-war-crimes-terror-133710897.html

KASHMIR'S CHANGING TERROR MATRIX-1: Islamic State enlarges footprint in Valley of Death (IANS Investigation)

As door 1 with Pakistan proxies supported by local hawks Hurriyat closes, door 2 with Islamic Caliphate written on it opens in what is a brutal cage match which has more or less eviscerated the lives of the Kashmiris in the Valley. Door 2 is only slightly ajar, but it is being kicked open by the powerful imagery of the Pulwama bombing by a local youth Adil Ahmad Dar. Dar has emerged as the latest poster child in the long line of local militants and ideologues beginning with Afzal Guru, Burhan Wani and then Zakir Musa. All young militants born out of the 'azadi' generation, birthed by the social media redefinition of freedom. Political Islam morphing itself into a puritanical strain of religious Islam. The Indian deep state is concerned about the rise of indigenous militancy following the beliefs of IS, something that was stamped out by J&K super cop and former IGP S.M. Sahai, Kashmir Range, in the past. As communities world wide close themselves and become m

Paris streets named after Jewish children killed in 2012 terror attack

On March 19th, 2012, an Islamic terrorist targeted a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse. Four people were killed, three of them children. Now, seven years later,  two alleys in a square in the center of Paris were named after the three children. The children killed were 8-year-old Myriam Monsonego, and brothers Arie and Gabriel Sandler, 6 and 3. The fourth victim was their father, a teacher at the school, Rabbi Jonathan Sandler. The street-naming ceremony took place on Sunday and was attended by the Mayor of the city Anne Hidalgo, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French Member of Parliament Meyer Habib.   “Today we were supposed to celebrate the bar mitzvah of Arie, of blessed memory," said Habib. "Instead, we are here to inaugurate a street in his memory. “The life of Jews in France has changed since the attack in Toulouse," he continued. "Back then, we were about to experience the worst wave of terror attacks

UK security services foiled 19 major terror attacks over past two years, says Sajid Javid

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UK security services have foiled 19 major terror attacks over the past two years, Home Secretary Sajid Javid has revealed. During a speech in which he confirmed plans to look at designating parts of Syria and possibly West Africa as terror no-go zones for British citizens , Mr Javid described how "the tempo of terror activity is increasing". The Home Office will also look to introduce new laws and refresh treason legislation to combat activity by hostile states' agents. Mr Javid said: "Each and every day our security services fight against terror, from large international terrorist groups to radicalised individuals. "And in the past two years they have foiled 19 major terrorist attacks - 14 of them Islamist and five of them motivated by extreme right-wing ideologies. "But those are just the headline figures. For each attack prevented, there are dozens more that never have the chance to begin in the first place. "And, despite th

Ex-Ritsumeikan teacher, a suspect in 2016 Dhaka terror attack fatal to 22, held in Iraq

A Bangladeshi academic believed to have played a role in planning a July 2016 terror attack in Dhaka that killed 22 people, including seven Japanese, is being detained in northern Iraq, a Bangladesh intelligence official said Monday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said information received through informal channels suggests that Mohammad Saifullah Ozaki, who once taught at Japan’s Ritsumeikan University, is being held in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah. Ozaki, alias Sujit Debnath, was among 10 Bangladeshi militants who surrendered to the Kurds in the former Islamic State stronghold of Baghouz, Syria, after it fell to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on March 15, according to the information. Aside from the Dhaka attack, he also is believed to have played a role in recruiting Bangladeshi youths to fight for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. On the night of July 1, 2016, five militants stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s posh Gulshan

Facial recognition by police is choice between privacy and preventing terror attacks, says security expert

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T he use of facial recognition by police is the difference between privacy and preventing terror attacks, a security expert has said ahead of the first legal battle in the UK over police's use of the technology. Ed Bridges has crowdfunded action against South Wales Police over claims that the use of the technology on him was an unlawful violation of privacy. He will also argue it breaches data protection and equality laws during a three-day hearing at Cardiff Civil Justice and Family Centre. Facial recognition technology maps faces in a crowd then compares results with a "watch list" of images which can include suspects, missing people and persons of interest. But former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) Chris Phillips told BBC Radio 4's Today programme if people have done nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about. "We had the same argument with CCTV," he said. "We're all submi

Intel warns of terror attack, air bases in Srinagar and Awantipora on high alert

Exit polls prediction that Modi will return for the second term has spooked Pakistan. Intel input accessed by Times Now unveils Pakistan's diabolical plot to bleed India around May 23 that's when the results will be declared. This Intel note suggests that terror launch pads near the line of control are activated and terrorist will be pushed from Jammu & Kashmir & Rajasthan. Security has been stepped up around the Indian Air Force bases in Srinagar and Awantipora area after Intel agencies warned of the possibility of a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir. SOurce: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/intel-warns-of-terror-attack-air-bases-in-srinagar-and-awantipora-on-high-alert/videoshow/69368383.cms

Ban of Hong Kong separatist party was on ‘compelling’ grounds and proportionate to risks: security minister John Lee

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The Post has obtained Lee’s 20-page letter to the legal teams of Hong Kong National Party convenor Andy Chan Ho-tin and spokesman Jason Chow Ho-fai. In it the minister attempts to justify his unprecedented decision to outlaw a political party The government officially banned the pro-independence Hong Kong National Party on Monday, making it the first political party to be declared unlawful under the Societies Ordinance. Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu said there was “a compelling case to take preventive action”, describing the ban as “necessary and proportional” in the interests of national security, public safety and order, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. The Post obtained Lee’s 20-page letter to the legal teams of party convenor Andy Chan Ho-tin and spokesman Jason Chow Ho-fai, in which Lee rebutted their defence and explained the reasoning behind his decision. Here is a summary of the arguments from the officer rec