Terrorism Watch

  Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said it is "right" for his country to "acknowledge" the wrongs carried out by Spain's conquistadors in Mexico some 500 years ago. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said it is "right" for his country to "acknowledge" the wrongs carried out by Spain's conquistadors in Mexico some 500 years ago. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Friday officially acknowledged the "suffering and injustice" that  Spain 's conquistadors meted out to  Mexico 's indigenous people some five centuries ago. "There was injustice, and it is merely right and fair to acknowledge and deplore this. It is part of our joint history. We can neither deny it nor forget it," Albares said on opening an exhibition of indigenous Mexican art in Madrid. The exhibition was organized at the request of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum . It is part of the "path of justice and re...

Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya acknowledged on Tuesday that drone attacks have recently been carried out in Badiraguato, a municipality in Sinaloa where convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera was born and grew up. He noted that the attacks have generated fear among residents of Badiraguato and forced some families to leave their homes to seek refuge in safer places. Some of the attacks reportedly  targeted a property in the village of La Tuna  where  Guzmán Loera’s deceased mother  formerly lived. There are no reports of the drone attacks having caused fatalities or injuries. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Rocha said that state and federal authorities had responded to the situation and seized “a lot of drones.” Citing unnamed security sources, Aristegui Noticias reported that authorities have seized seven drones as well as material used in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices. Rocha didn’t specify when the drone attacks took pla...

The Al-Hol camp in the Syrian eastern province of Al-Hasakah has once again come into the spotlight. On 28 December, Syrian Kurdish security forces, supported by the United States, initiated an operation targeting a senior Islamic State (IS) official named Abu Obeida in the camp, resulting in his death. Numerous similar security operations have been launched over the years to secure and stabilise the detention facility, housing thousands of internally displaced individuals and families of suspected IS members. Despite these efforts, the camp has continued to experience high levels of violence and the spread of extremism among its residents. The failure of Kurdish security efforts is largely due to an overreliance on targeting male IS leaders and operatives. Unlike in 2014, when male fighters led the militant group’s seizure of territory in Iraq, Syria and beyond, now, it is the group's female supporters who are expanding their influence. Unless this shift is understood correctly...

At a high-profile Paris conference aimed at stabilising Africa's Great Lakes region , President Emmanuel Macron announced €1.5 billion in humanitarian aid and pledged to reopen the airport in Goma for humanitarian flights. However, the ambitious initiative met immediate resistance from key regional players. M23 rebels , who control the airport and large parts of North Kivu province , called the plan “inopportune, disconnected from realities on the ground”. Rwanda’s foreign minister, representing Kigali in Paris, echoed the scepticism, stating:  “Goma airport is in the hands of the M23 authorities … You cannot reopen an airport from Paris.” The aid pledge and airport announcement aimed to lift one of the world’s most entrenched conflicts, but underlying distrust, fresh fighting in eastern DR Congo and weak representation from African heads of state muddied the message. One security source confirmed to Xinhua that clashes resumed near Masisi territory , signalling the fragile natu...

JERUSALEM (AP) — The  remains of three people  handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross this week do not belong to any of the hostages, Israel said Saturday, the latest setback that could undermine a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the  Israel-Hamas war . The handover followed Israel’s return on Friday of the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza. That completed an exchange after militants earlier this week turned over remains of two hostages, a sign that the tense Israel-Hamas  ceasefire agreement  was edging forward. The unidentified remains of the three people were returned late Friday to Israel, where they were being examined overnight. At the time, a military official warned that Israeli intelligence suggested they did not belong to any of the hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that sparked the war. The Israeli official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Isr...

The article highlights the dire conditions and profound human rights abuses in the al‑Hol and Roj camps in northeastern Syria, where tens of thousands — primarily women and children linked to ISIS — are held in unsanitary, overcrowded, and arbitrary detention, facing malnutrition, disease, gender‑based violence, trauma, and separation from their families. It warns that these camps serve as breeding grounds for radicalization, with ISIS sleeper cells actively recruiting youth amid chronic neglect. The piece strongly advocates for urgent repatriation and accountability, condemning prolonged detainment without due process and emphasizing the responsibility of home countries to bring back and rehabilitate detainees, especially vulnerable children, to prevent further destabilization. Disclaimer: These opinion pieces represent the authors’ personal views, and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of Norwich University or PAWC. While Al Hol and Roj camps in Syria have ...

New Delhi, Oct 30: Expressing gratitude to India for its steadfast position on the Cyprus issue, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos endorsed New Delhi’s stance that terrorism should be dealt with zero tolerance–extending not only to the terrorists, but also to those who support and finance them. “We also have extended our full solidarity to India after the recent terrorist attacks, and we totally agree with the approach that there can be no other way of dealing with terrorism rather than zero tolerance, and that, of course, extends not only to the terrorists, but also to those who support and finance them. At the same time, I’m thankful for India’s consistent approach, principled approach, as regards the Cyprus problem,” Foreign Minister Kombos said in his opening remarks during a meeting with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar in New Delhi. Kombos thanked EAM Jaishankar for the warm hospitality during his first-ever visit to India, noting that it was also the first...

Nearly a year after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad ’s regime, Syria remains splintered and volatile. In the country’s northwest, forces loyal to President Ahmed al-Sharaa have battled the “ Ghuraba Brigade ,” a faction of foreign jihadists led by the French militant Omar Diaby – better known as Omar Omsen – in one of the most serious confrontations since the regime’s fall. Analysts say the clashes near Idlib reflect more than a local power struggle. They expose the fragility of Syria’s post-war landscape and the uncertain fate of thousands of foreign fighters who once joined the rebellion. The violence, they warn, could reverberate far beyond Syria’s borders, unsettling the delicate balance of power from Turkey to the Mediterranean and stoking fears of a renewed transnational jihad . A Battle at the Edge of Harem The fighting broke out last Wednesday in the al-Firdan camp on the outskirts of Harem, in Idlib Province. The settlement shelters members of the Ghuraba Brigade and thei...

The Malian capital is facing a dual crisis of severe fuel shortages and a wave of foreign advisories to leave the country, creating what local journalists describe as a “psychosis” among residents who feel trapped by deteriorating security and economic conditions. Long, chaotic lines have formed at gas stations across Bamako amid a severe fuel crisis, causing widespread panic. The situation on the ground remains dire despite government announcements that convoys of fuel trucks, secured by the Malian armed forces (FAMa), are en route. This tangible crisis has been compounded by a less visible but deeply felt psychological one, triggered by several Western countries publicly advising their citizens to depart Mali. Foreign withdrawals spark local alarm and criticism The security warnings, widely circulated on social media, have been met with understanding for the right of nations to protect their citizens, but also with significant criticism for their execution. “The way it was done ca...

CHANDIGARH : Three operatives of the banned outfit -- Sikhs for Justice -- have been arrested for allegedly writing pro-Khalistan slogans on the walls of schools in two villages in  Punjab , police said on Friday. Director general of police Gaurav Yadav said that the preliminary investigation has revealed the arrested accused had painted inflammatory slogans intended to incite public unrest and spread anti-national sentiments. Canada Faces Backlash As 'Embassy Of Khalistan' Board Installed At Nijjar's Old Stomping Ground "In a major breakthrough, Counter Intelligence Bathinda , in a joint operation with Bathinda Police apprehends three operatives of the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) for writing pro-Khalistan slogans on the walls of schools in villages Bhissiana and Mananwala , backed by USA -based mastermind Gurpatwant Singh Pannu of SFJ," he said in a post on X . He added that evidence suggests the accused were receiving foreign funding to carry out th...

More than 60,000 people have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over the weekend, according the UN refugee agency. There have been reports of mass executions and crimes against humanity as the RSF fighters stormed the city after an 18-month siege marked by starvation and heavy bombardment. The flow of those fleeing the violence towards the town of Tawila , about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, the UNHCR's Eujin Byun told the BBC. They were narrating horrendous stories of atrocities, including rape, and the agency was struggling to find enough shelter and food for them, she said. Every child was suffering from malnutrition , she added. It is estimated that more than 150,000 people are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur . The RSF has denied widespread allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnicall...