Terrorism Watch

Explosions and  gunshots  rocked Friday prayers at a mosque in Örebro,  Sweden , this afternoon (August 15). Police reported that at least two people had been shot and that a manhunt for the gunman was underway. Local media is reporting one death.  Police said more people were injured in the   incident , but did not give details on how many were hurt or how serious their injuries were. The public have been urged to avoid the area. Following the sounding of the alarm at 1:45pm local time, rescue services and an ambulance rushed to the scene. According to Aftonbladet's information, two people were shot and the hunt for a suspected perpetrator is ongoing. Earlier this summer, Sweden was declared the   EU's gun crime capital , with police believing about 62,000 persons are active in, or have a connection to, the criminal network in the country   source:  Sweden mosque shooting: Horror as 'explosions' heard at Friday prayers | World | News | Express.co...

Only a fraction of child-porn offences reported by tech firms are investigated Outrage over the Online Safety Act’s age-verification mandates has tended thus far to focus on amusing, if frustrating, hurdles the law has thrown up for ordinary citizens: issues playing music on streaming services, trouble ordering pizzas and the possibility of Wikipedia going offline for huge chunks of the population...   Source:  The Online Safety Act censors dissent, while letting paedophiles roam free

Nine men have been arrested as part of an investigation into non-recent child sexual abuse in Calderdale. The men, aged between 42 and 52, were arrested at a number of addresses in Calderdale, Leeds and Ashton. They were interviewed and bailed pending further inquiries, West Yorkshire Police said. The alleged offences are said to have occurred between 1993 and 2000 and relate to two female victims. Police urged anyone who has been a victim of child sexual exploitation to come forward. Det Ch Insp Claire Smith said: "Tackling child abuse is something we take extremely seriously, which is why we work closely with local authorities and other organisations and charities to support victims, bring offenders to justice and make our communities safer."   Source:  Nine men arrested over Calderdale child sex abuse in 1990s

  John Harris is correct that sexual offending by grooming gangs in many towns and cities across England over the past 20 years or so has heightened fears about the safety of women and girls and undermined community relations ( Rightwingers warn of another blaze of summer riots in Britain – but they’re the ones striking the match, 10 August ). This being the case, it is vital to more fully understand the grooming problem by examining it in its wider context. It seems undeniable that the on-street grooming model that has so dominated our news often involves men of Pakistani heritage. However, research by the Home Office-funded  Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme  reveals that only 3.7% of the 115,489 child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) offences recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2023 (the most recent year for which figures are available) involved “group-based contact offences”, of which majority-Pakistani-heritage grooming gangs wou...

The Nigerian government has failed to ensure accountability after police used deadly force to disperse  mass 2024 demonstrations  against soaring living costs, Amnesty International has said on the first anniversary of the protests. In a statement on Friday, the human rights group said police in Nigeria “bizarrely continue to deny strong allegations of extrajudicial execution, torture and unlawful arrests of the protesters”. An Amnesty investigation found that at least 24 people were killed when police opened fire on the protests, which erupted in August of last year under the slogan #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria. Demonstrators  took to the streets  across the country in anger about soaring fuel prices and inflation, spurred by government reforms aimed at reviving the economy. “A year on, despite the gravity of these human rights violations, not a single member of the security forces has been prosecuted, as accountability remains elusive for the 24 peaceful protesters k...

The leader of Mujahideen Indonesia Timur (MIT – Mujahideen of East Indonesia), Shaykh Abu Wardah Santoso (a.k.a. Abu Yahya), revealed his face for the first time on July 10 in a six-minute, professionally-made jihadist video posted on YouTube. An armed Santoso stands flanked by two hooded soldiers and calls for more of his men to become “martyrs” and kill soldiers of Indonesia’s anti-terrorism squad, Densus 88. [1]   Until the release of this video, which was originally entitled “Risalah Kepada Ummat Islam di Kota Poso” (A Message to the Muslim Community in Poso) only grainy pictures of Santoso existed. However, some locals in Santoso’s base of Poso, Sulawesi claim to have seen him passing through the city from time to time ( Tempo  [Jakarta], May 16).   In the video, Santoso says, “Densus 88 is the real enemy, the real Satan… when you face the fight against Densus 88, you need to be in spirit, you need to be strong, you need to be brave as has been shown by previous Isla...

NEW YORK and MELBOURNE; Aug. 14, 2025 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has agreed to acquire  CyberCX , a leading privately-owned cybersecurity services provider serving both private and public sector organizations across Australia, New Zealand and internationally. The move represents Accenture’s largest cybersecurity acquisition to date and will significantly bolster Accenture’s cybersecurity services in Asia Pacific. It will further expand Accenture’s leading position in the region, enhancing its ability to build business resilience, protect critical infrastructure and drive secure enterprise reinvention amidst an increasingly complex regulatory and threat landscape. Established in Melbourne, Australia in 2019, CyberCX is one of the largest and most prominent cybersecurity firms in the Asia Pacific region with a highly skilled workforce of approximately 1,400 professionals. The company’s end-to-end services extend across consulting, transformation and managed security services and include...

Follows pressure to distance case from South Yorkshire Police, with three retired officers arrested on suspicion of historical sex offences The National Crime Agency (NCA) has taken over the investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse by former South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officers   Source:  National Crime Agency to investigate allegations police were involved in Rotherham abuse

  BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Friday accused Lebanon’s government of “handing” the country to Israel by pushing for the group’s disarmament, warning it would fight to keep its weapons. Qassem spoke in a televised address after meeting Iran’s top security chief Ali Larijani, whose country has long backed the Lebanese militant group. Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year’s war with Israel, and under US pressure the Lebanese government has ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm the group by the end of the year. Iran, whose so-called “axis of resistance” includes Hezbollah, has also suffered a series of setbacks, most recently in the war with Israel that saw the United States strike its nuclear sites. Opinion He also warned the Lebanese government against confronting the militant group, saying there would be “no life” in Lebanon in that event. Qassem said Hezbollah and the Amal movement, its Shiite Muslim ally, had decided to delay any street protests against ...

Lebanon stands at a decisive crossroads. The choice is stark and unavoidable: reclaim the monopoly on legitimate force or watch the slow, irreversible erosion of the state. At the heart of this crisis lies Hezbollah’s arsenal — a parallel military power that operates beyond government authority, answers to an external command structure and wields enough influence to veto national decisions at will. For decades, Hezbollah’s weapons have been justified under the banner of “resistance,” originally framed as a necessary shield against Israeli aggression. That narrative, however, has long since expired. What began as a defensive posture has morphed into a political and military apparatus that holds the Lebanese state hostage, subverts democratic institutions and serves as an arm of a foreign power’s regional strategy. Today, Hezbollah’s weapons no longer protect Lebanon — they protect Hezbollah’s ability to dictate Lebanon’s future. The foundation of any sovereign state is its monopoly over...

  PORT SUDAN: Drone strikes targeted the Sudanese town of Tamboul, southeast of the capital Khartoum, on Wednesday during a celebration organized by the army, two witnesses told AFP. One Tamboul resident said chaos had erupted in the central square where “hundreds of people had gathered” for the ceremony as air defenses responded. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes, the first in Al-Jazira state in months, and neither the army nor its paramilitary foes issued any comment. Al-Jazira was Sudan’s pre-war agricultural heartland. It had been largely calm since the army recaptured it from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in January in the same counteroffensive that saw it retake Khartoum in March. According to the United Nations, around a million people have returned to their homes in Al-Jazira since January. Wednesday’s celebration in Tamboul was due to be attended by Abu Aqla Kaykal, the commander of the Sudan Shield Forces, an armed group currently alig...

  A 32-year-old man with a history of mental health problems opened fire outside a Target store on Aug. 11 in Austin, Texas, killing three people, authorities said. Austin Police Department  responded to the scene within four minutes of the shooting at 2:15 p.m. CT, Chief Lisa Davis said during a news briefing. By then, the shooter had fled in a stolen car, crashed it soon after, and then stole another vehicle, Davis said. Police then tracked the suspect down, used a Taser stun gun on him, and arrested him, Davis said. Davis did not release his name and said a motive wasn't immediately known. She said he does have a "rap sheet" with the department, but did not elaborate. Two of the victims were declared dead in the parking lot, while the third person died at a local hospital, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said at the  news conference . Information about the victims was not immediately known. "This is a very sad day for Austin. It's a very sad day...

  The United States on Monday officially designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, the Majeed Brigade, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). The Majeed Brigade was also added as an alias to the BLA’s previous Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) classification. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the move in a press statement, saying, "Since 2019, BLA has claimed responsibility for additional attacks, including by the Majeed Brigade." While the BLA was already on a US terror list, this new and expanded designation is widely seen as a significant diplomatic outcome for Pakistan, while introducing new complexities for India. Incidently, the decision to designate the BLA as FTO comes at a time when the US is cosying up to Pakistan and also announced its intention to invest in mining and oil exploration in Balochistan. Also, this is being seen as a balancing act between India and Pakistan post-Operation Sindoor. On July 18, The Resistanc...

  This article is part of  “Pastors and Prey,”  a series investigating sex abuse allegations in the Assemblies of God. Thomas Pinkerton Jr. used to tell children in his youth group in Maryland that it was normal for a pastor to kiss boys on the lips, because that’s how Jesus greeted his disciples, according to an arrest warrant made public last week. Kissing was just the beginning, several men from Pinkerton’s former youth group told police. Pinkerton, 52, a youth minister known as Pastor Tommy, is being held without bond following accusations that he sexually abused six teens from 2006 to 2010 while working at Central Christian Church, an Assemblies of God church in Baltimore County. He was extradited from his home state of Georgia to Maryland last Wednesday to face 24 felony and misdemeanor counts in Baltimore County. His attorney, Justin Hollimon, said he pleaded not guilty. An arrest warrant said the alleged abuse included inappropriate touching and kissing of six tee...