Terrorism Watch

One of the world's most wanted men has finally been caught – all thanks to his own brother. Michael Yosimar Castillo Quiñónez  was being hunted by Interpol  on murder charges.  They had issued a red notice,  meaning he was on their high priority, and classed as being highly dangerous. The exact nature of the  murder charge has not been made public , however, Jaime Salgado, police chief of the Manta district in Ecuador, confirmed that he was found using his brother's ID attempting to live his life under a fake name. He was actually arrested in Jaramijó under his brother's name for extortion and other “illegal activities”, and forensic experts were brought in to figure out his true identity. Toddler only survivor as 'perfect' family found dead after quadruple murder-suicide 'Alien spaceship' heading towards Earth glows like 'a car turning on its headlights' For the unaware, an Interpol Red Notice is an international alert issued by Interpol to help cou...

Uganda to host migrants denied asylum in U.S. Excludes criminals, minors; prioritizes African nationals. Agreement details pending; political tension rising in Uganda. Kampala and Washington have reached a cooperation agreement on migration matters, under which Uganda will host third-country nationals who have been denied asylum in the United States and who refuse or fear returning to their home countries. According to a statement from Uganda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on Thursday, August 21, the temporary arrangement excludes individuals with a criminal record and unaccompanied minors. Kampala further specified that it will prioritize hosting nationals from African countries. The number of people the East African nation will receive and the effective date of the agreement are not yet known. However, the statement said that  "the two parties are working out the detailed modalities on how the agreement shall be implemented ." This measure aligns with the inten...

A Colombian drug gang used a drone to shoot down a helicopter transporting police officers targeting cocaine crops, killing 12 officers on board, the nation’s president said. The attack in the northern region of Antioquia on Thursday came just hours before a truck loaded with explosives detonated near a military aviation school in the south-west city of Cali, killing at least six people and injuring more than 60. Gustavo Petro, the  country’s  president, blamed both attacks on dissident members of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ( FARC ). He initially blamed the  Gulf Clan , Colombia’s biggest  drug cartel , for the attack on the helicopter, saying it was revenge for a cocaine seizure. FARC dissidents, who rejected a 2016 peace deal with the government, and the Gulf Clan are both active in Antioquia and heavily involved in cocaine production. Authorities said the helicopter was transporting police officers as part of an operation to destroy coc...

The Donbas, eastern Ukraine’s strategic stronghold, remains a key focus in US-mediated peace talks. Rich in resources and heavily fortified, it is central to Ukraine’s defence and national survival. The Donbas, a large area of eastern Ukraine bordering Russia, is at the centre of US-mediated peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Moscow has demanded that Kyiv concede the whole area, which is made up of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, even though Russian forces still do not fully control the territory. Ukraine has ruled out giving it up, pointing out that Russia has been unable to capture the Donbas completely, despite years of trying. Here's what you need to know about the important strategic stronghold: What is the Donbas? The Donbas, named after the Donets River and its coal basin, covers an area larger than Switzerland and represents about nine percent of Ukraine's whole territory. The region has been at war since the start of a Moscow-backed separatist insurgency in 2014. It...

  UNITED NATIONS: Syria’s transition remains “on a knife-edge” and violence could resume at any moment in the southern city of Sweida, which saw deadly clashes last month, the top U.N. envoy for Syria warned on Thursday. Geir Pedersen told the U.N. Security Council that while violence in Sweida has largely subsided following a ceasefire, “the threat of renewed conflict is ever-present — as are the political centrifugal forces that threaten Syria’s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity.” Syria is grappling with deep ethnic and religious divisions following the ouster of Syria’s autocratic President Bashar Assad in December, which brought an end to decades of Assad family rule. The transition has proven fragile, with renewed violence erupting in March along the coast and in July in Sweida, a city with a significant Druze population, highlighting the continued threat to peace after years of civil war. Clashes erupted in Sweida on July 13 between Dru...

The sleepy village of Jagdishpura on the outskirts of Bhopal hid a secret that appeared to be lifted straight out of a crime thriller. Behind the locked gates of House No. 11, investigators found not a home, but a multi-crore synthetic drug factory allegedly run on orders from one of Dawood Ibrahim's most notorious henchmen. On August 16, a swift raid by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) tore open the façade of rural calm. Inside, sleuths discovered 61.20 kg of liquid mephedrone (MD) worth a staggering ₹92 crore, and over 541 kg of raw chemicals enough to flood markets across India. The seizure has exposed how the D-Company's tentacles are stretching deep into Madhya Pradesh, turning it into a production base for international narcotics. For decades, Mumbai trembled under the shadow of Dawood Ibrahim. Extortion rackets, gang wars, and contract killings defined the city's underworld. But as Mumbai grew and policing tightened, the gang quietly shifted gears. Now, ...

India targeted numerous terrorist hideouts in Pakistan during “ Operation Sindoor ” including Muhammad Masood Azhar Alvi alias Masood Azhar, Jaish-e-Mohammed (Jaish or JeM). He has now formulated a plan to re-establish terrorist facilities in collaboration with Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and 3.9 billion (390 crores) Pakistani rupees are to be used for this. They have devised an ingenious method to raise funds to prevent suspicion from international agencies. The terrorists are now  acquiring money through digital wallets  instead of bank accounts. Jaish’s strategy to evade organizations such as FATF Pakistan is notorious for its support of terrorism. Consequently, it remained on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list for an extended period. Hence, the Islamic Republic proposed a plan that included measures against Jaish-e-Mohammed to address this issue. The former insisted that it does not financially support terrorists and mentioned its intention to monitor t...

  PESHAWAR: At least 15 militants, including a suicide bomber, were killed and four security personnel were injured in an overnight gunbattle with security forces in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, security forces said on Friday. The clash broke out on Thursday at Karamzi Stop in the Azam Warsak area in South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan. Acting on prior intelligence, security forces launched an operation to clear the area when a key militant compound, a Markaz (centre point), was seized, and the national flag was hoisted on the site, sources said. Among the 15 militants killed, several were those who had taken refuge in a nearby mosque. Nine people, including four security personnel, were injured during the exchange of fire, the sources added. Two new check posts were also established. In a separate incident in the Bannu district of the province, armed assailants killed a retired army Subedar after an attempted abduction. The victim, identified as Ataullah, wa...

  BOGOTA:   A car bomb and a separate attack on a police helicopter in Colombia killed at least 17 people Thursday, according to authorities.  President Gustavo Petro  attributed both attacks to dissidents of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly known as  FARC . At least 12 police officers died in the attack on a helicopter that according to authorities was transporting personnel to an area in Antioquia in northern Colombia, to eradicate coca leaf crops, the raw material for  cocaine . Petro had reported initially eight officers killed, but Antioquia Gov. Andrés Julián said four others died later and three remain injured. The Antioquia governor had said on X that a drone attacked the helicopter as it flew over coca leaf crops. Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said preliminary information indicates the attack caused a fire in the aircraft. Meanwhile, authorities in the southwest city of Cali reported that a vehicle loaded with...