Terrorism Watch

Police stormed a bunker hosting countless illegal darknet platforms in a quiet German town. The alleged owner of the operation was believed to be living in the underground data center that hosted criminal websites. A cybercrime data center that was shut down by German authorities was housed inside a former NATO bunker in a sleepy riverside town, police revealed on Friday. More than 600 law enforcement personnel including Germany's elite federal police unit, the GSG 9, were involved in an anti-cybercrime operation that took place in the town of Traben-Trarbach on the banks of the Mosel river. Police officers succeeded in penetrating the building, a 5,000 square meter former NATO bunker with iron doors that goes five floors deep underground. The building was located on a 1.3-hectare (3.2 acre) property secured with a fence and surveillance cameras. "We had to overcome not only real, or analog, protections; we also cracked the digital protections of the data center,” sa

More than 300 boys and men, some as young as five and many in chains and bearing scars from beatings, have been rescued in a raid on a building that purported to be an Islamic school in northern Nigeria, police said on Friday. Most of the freed captives seen by a Reuters reporter in the city of Kaduna were children, aged up to their late teens. Some shuffled with their ankles manacled and others were chained by their legs to large metal wheels to prevent escape. One boy, held by the hand by a police officer as he walked unsteadily, had sores visible on his back that appeared consistent with injuries inflicted by a whip. © Reuters/Reuters TV  People with chained legs are pictured after being rescued from a building in the northern city of Kaduna Some children had been brought from neighbouring countries including Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana, police said, while others had been left by their parents in what they believed to be an Islamic school or rehabilitation centre. &quo

Three suspected terrorists of a group of five were killed on Saturday after they took a BJP worker hostage in Batote on Jammu-Srinagar highway. They had earlier fired at security forces who cornered them after they tried to stop a vehicle probably to hijack it. The hostage, identified as Vijay Kumar Verma, booth president of the BJP has been rescued. Security forces lost a soldier in the exchange of fire and two policemen have been injured, according to defence personnel. “All three terrorists were neutralized, but we lost a soldier and two policemen were injured in the encounter,” IGP Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh said. He added that only three terrorists had taken the BJP worker hostage.  The standoff comes days after multiple intelligence agencies warned the government that at least 60 terrorists have infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir in the last few weeks alone and another 500 are waiting to infiltrate. Earlier defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand said, “At around 1 p

A German artist has installed a tank and four bronze wolf statues in a Berlin street to protest the arms policy of far-right party Alternative for Germany. The party has previously argued for German rearmament. Brandenburg artist Rainer Opolka has staged a one-day art protest in Berlin on Friday with four bronze wolves and a tank. The installation was placed in front of the headquarters of  far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD)  to protest its policy on German rearmament. The artist created the installation in collaboration with Lea Roch, head of the society for the promotion of the  Berlin Holocaust memorial. "Generally unknown to the public, the AfD is working hard to change policy around armaments in Germany," said artist Opolka. "It intends to use the Bundeswehr domestically to drastically increase the German military budget, to expand the arms industry and to militarize civilian life." "The tank and the wolves are symbolic of the arms an

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities lifted Saturday some tight security measures in the capital, Cairo, a day after they sealed off the main square and downtown thoroughfares to thwart a possible protest against the country's president. The measures were part of a harsh security clampdown following rare demonstrations in several cities last weekend, all of which were broken up by police. Calls for fresh protests on Friday were largely stifled by the deployment of thousands of police in Cairo's streets, but there was a small protest of at least three dozen people on el-Waraq island at the northern fringes of the capital, which was quickly dispersed, according to three witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Security personnel were visible in Cairo's main streets and squares on Saturday but did not prevent normal traffic as in the past days. Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the pro-democracy uprising in 2011 that toppled longtime autocrat H

Turkey has prepared a detailed plan for the resettlement of Syrian refugees that want to return to their home country after a safe zone in northern Syria is established where people will be able to live in a stable and peaceful environment. The details of the plan emerged Friday, with the eventual goal being to resettle about 1 million Syrians within the area in the east of the Euphrates. According to the plan, which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shared with U.S. officials, 140 villages and 10 district centers will be established within the 30-40 kilometer deep safe zone in northern Syria, housing 5,000 and 30,000 inhabitants each, respectively. The settlements will be provided with various facilities so that the people living there will be able to have a normal life with every necessity met. Each village will have 1,000 houses, and each district will have 6,000 new homes built, making 200,000 new residences in total. The construction is expected to cost about $26.6 b

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters chanted anti-government slogans and sang their "Glory to Hong Kong" anthem on Saturday, marking the fifth anniversary of the "Umbrella" pro-democracy movement as protests which have gridlocked the territory for weeks continued. Families gathered at the harbourside Tamar Park, in front of central government offices and the Legislative Council, both of which have come under attack for more than three months, sparking violent street battles with police. “It’s a special day for Hong Kong protesters. We will stick together to fight for freedom," said Sam, 33, dressed in black and wearing a mask. “Most people think Hong Kong was dying after five years, but many people are still fighting for Hong Kong." A series of protests for and against Communist Party rulers in Beijing is planned for the Chinese-ruled city ahead of the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic on Tuesday, including at the consulate o

A sheriff’s deputy described as "a trailblazer" because he was the first Sikh deputy of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office when he joined the force 10 years ago, was shot and killed while making a traffic stop Friday near Houston. Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, 42, was pronounced dead at Memorial Hermann Hospital after the 12:45 p.m. shooting in a residential cul-de-sac 18 miles (29 kilometers) northwest of Houston. Dhaliwal had stopped a vehicle with two people inside when one of the occupants was able to leave the vehicle, approach the deputy from behind and shoot him at least twice _ "basically just shot him in a very ruthless, cold-blooded way," said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Gonzalez’s predecessor as sheriff, Adrian Garcia, implemented a religious accommodation policy that allowed Dhaliwal to wear the traditional turban and beard of the Sikh religion. Dhaliwal’s dashboard camera captured video showing Dhaliwal speaking with the driver in what

Speaking at the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Friday, she said that Rohingya crisis is now becoming a regional threat which requires urgent intervention from the international community for a permanent solution. Outlining her four point proposal she said that Myanmar must manifest clear political will supported by concrete actions for sustainable return and reintegration of Rohingyas into Myanmar. She said that Myanmar should discard discriminatory laws and practices. It should   allow Rohingya representatives to visit Northern Rakhine to see the ground reality there. Sheikh Hasina said Myanmar must guarantee security and safety of the Rohingyas by deploying civilian monitors from international observers in the Rakhine State. The fourth point of her proposal called upon the international community to ensure that the violation of human rights and other atrocities committed against the Rohingyas are accounted for. Sheikh Hasina recall

A former U.S. Army soldier who fought for a far-right Ukrainian paramilitary group and who has been linked to a bomb plot in the United States has been detained in Ukraine on charges related to a double murder last year. Craig Lang, 29, is one of two Army veterans implicated in the 2018 murder of a couple, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Florida, where the killing occurred. The case is one of a growing number involving former U.S. veterans and U.S.-based extremists and white supremacist groups who have cultivated ties with Ukrainian right-wing groups in recent years. Lang, who was being held in a jail in central Ukraine as of September 26, has also been linked to another U.S. soldier who was  arrested on September 21  in Kansas, and who had asked Lang for help with traveling to Ukraine to fight for another right-wing paramilitary group. That soldier, Jarrett William Smith, is expected to make an initial court appearance in a Kansas federal court on S

A U.S. airstrike Thursday in Libya has killed 17 Islamic State fighters, according to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). The statement from AFRICOM confirmed earlier reporting by VOA that a counter-IS strike by U.S. forces had killed more than 10 militants. It is the third U.S. strike this month against the terror group in the southwestern Libyan town of Murzuq.  An airstrike Tuesday killed 11 IS militants, and another last week killed eight, according to AFRICOM.  The strikes were carried out in coordination with the Libyan Government of National Accord to deny "safe haven" for terrorists who "seek to harm innocent Libyans," said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Heidi Berg, AFRICOM's director of intelligence. The deteriorating security situation in Libya has allowed militants affiliated with IS to expand their presence in ungoverned spaces of the desert in the country's south. Troops affiliated with the Government of National Accord have been fighting forces l

Yemen’s pro-government Houthi Ansarullah movement has warned the United Arab Emirates to leave the war-wracked country or face "crippling attacks" on "their own soil". Abdul Wahab al-Mahbashi, an Ansarullah member in Yemen's Supreme Political Council, warned the UAE that Yemeni forces will wage destructive attacks on the Persian Gulf country if it continues taking part in the Saudi war on Yemen. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, another Supreme Political Council member, called for the UAE to "quit escalating tensions", noting that "the opportunity given to Abu Dhabi is limited." Al-Bukhaiti urged the Emirati forces to withdraw from "the country's western coast and its southern provinces". He added that the UAE is seeking to gain influence in Tai'zz Province. "A number of Emirati mercenaries have left for Tai'zz from the A'sab base in Eritrea in a bid to obtain military advances following completion of their trai