terrorist Archives

Four Killed, Including Policeman And Suspect, In Westminster Terror Attack

March 22, 2017 by administrator

In Pictures: Terror Attack Outside British Parliament In London (click to enter gallery)

London police say at least four people were killed in a March 22 terrorist attack at the British Parliament — including a suspected attacker, a police officer stabbed by an assailant, and two people struck by the assailant’s vehicle when he rammed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge.

Police said they believe a lone assailant carried out attack, which left at least 20 others injured, but that they were continuing a counterterrorism investigation and had not ruled out the possibility that others may have been involved.

The attack began at 2:40 p.m. local time, when a man drove a car at a high speed across Westminster Bridge and rammed into a group of pedestrians — killing at least two people — before crashing the vehicle into a railing beside the Parliament and London’s iconic Big Ben clock-tower.

Police said the attacker then got out of the vehicle and ran inside the Parliament’s security perimeter through a vehicle entrance gate and fatally stabbed a police officer.

He was then shot by plainclothes police officers and died after being taken away for treatment.

The police officer who was stabbed died later in a hospital.

Hospital officials said several people who were struck by the assailant’s vehicle suffered “catastrophic” injuries.

One woman who fell from the bridge into the River Thames was pulled out alive by rescue workers, but was said to have suffered serious injuries.

French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed that three French school children, aged 15 to 16, were among those injured on Westminster Bridge.

Three London police officers were also among those struck by the vehicle on the bridge.

Westminster Bridge spans the River Thames and is used for vehicle and pedestrian traffic. It meets the Palace of Westminster compound near its northern end.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said she was safe after the attack.

She had been in the House of Commons at the time of the attack and was quickly shuttled away by security to her office at 10 Downing Street, where she called for an emergency security meeting at her Cabinet Office Briefing Room.

A full counterterrorism investigation was launched by London Metropolitan Police.

Thousands of Guns Bound for Terrorist Groups Seized in Spain

March 16, 2017 by administrator

Mountains of firearms recovered by police in Spain. Spanish national police

by ALEXANDER SMITH and LAURA SARAVIA

When a gunman killed four people at a Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014, police in Spain launched an effort to reduce the number of illegal firearms circulating in Europe.

What they found was a arsenal large enough to supply an army — and all ready to be sold to terrorist groups and gangs.

Spanish police announced Tuesday they had recovered around 10,000 assault rifles, pistols, machine guns, and revolvers, as well as 400 shells and grenades, in raids in the north of the country.

They also arrested five suspects and recovered around $90,000.

The raids, in Girona, Biscay and Cantabria, targeted a gang trafficking firearms on the black market that were destined to be sold to terror groups and gangs in Spain, France and Belgium.

Spain’s national police, who worked with cross-border authority Europol on the operation, said the gang “exploited legal loopholes and legislative differences between E.U. countries to divert guns from legal suppliers.” They used a workshop to re-brand and reactivate the weapons, which were “being made ready for sale to terrorist groups and organized crime,” police said.

Gunman Reportedly Detained After Trying to Enter US Embassy in Turkey

December 19, 2016 by administrator

An armed man attempted to enter the US embassy in the Turkish capital, local media said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A gunman attempting to enter the US embassy in Ankara was stopped by police and has been detained, the Daily Sabah newspaper said in its official Twitter account.

The incident follows Monday’s murder of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov who was killed by a gunman at an art gallery exhibition opening in Ankara. Three other people were also injured in the attack. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it considers the attack a terrorist act.

The Daily Sabah reported that the incident was over, adding that the embassy called on US citizens to avoid area around the embassy until Tuesday.

US Embassy in Ankara says security incident near the Embassy is over but US citizens should avoid the area until Tuesday morning

Will President Trump Reverse Obama/Erdogan Plan For “Seizing, Holding, And Occupying” Syrian Territory In Raqqa

November 9, 2016 by administrator

erdogan-terrorist By Brandon Turbeville

As the U.S. Presidential selection draws to a close, the United States and Turkey have announced a new plan to defeat ISIS, the same terrorist organization both countries have created, funded, armed, and facilitated, in Syria. The plan revolves around the conquering, occupation, and governing of sovereign Syrian territory in the East, most notably Raqqa.

According to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, after meeting with his Turkish counterpart, that “The coalition and Turkey will work together on the long-term plan for seizing, holding and governing Raqqa.”

The statement by Dunford seems to confirm the fact that the United States will not move forward in its campaign for Raqqa without working closely with the Turks, who are themselves concerned about the makeup of the proxy forces destined to hold power once the campaign is over. The Syrian Democratic Forces, the proxies of choice in this battle, are made up of many Kurdish militias and fighters, an issue that provides much worry on the part of the Turkish government.

Russia says Syria peace talks impossible in near future “blamed the West for supporting “terrorists”

November 1, 2016 by administrator

russia-dm Russia’s defense minister has said Syrian rebels cannot be negotiated with, making peace talks impossible for the time being. He blamed the West for supporting “terrorists.”

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow was not expecting a resumption of Syrian peace talks in the foreseeable future because of the “impossibility” of negotiating with forces opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Militants in the northern city of Aleppo were “shooting dozens of civilians a day for attempting to approach humanitarian corridors” opened by a pause in Russian and Syrian air attacks, he said in comments carried by the state news agency TASS.

“Is this really an opposition with whom it is possible to negotiate?” he said, adding, “As a result, the prospect for the beginning of a political process and returning peace to the Syrian people is being postponed indefinitely.”

Supporting terrorists?

He accused the West of continuing to support violent Islamists as a by-product of its help to so-called “moderate” rebels fighting against Assad’s forces, which are receiving backing from the Russian military. Much of Aleppo is under the control of Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda.

“It is time for our Western colleagues to determine whom they are fighting against: terrorists or Russia,” Shoigu said. “In order to destroy terrorists in Syria it is necessary to act together and not put a spanner in the works of partners.”

Strained ties

With its military support for the Syrian regime, Russia has increasingly come onto a collision course with the United States and its allies, who want to see Assad removed from office.

Shoigu, who was addressing a meeting of Russian military officials, said he was surprised that some European governments had not allowed Russian naval vessels headed for Syria through the Mediterranean Sea to dock for refueling or restocking, but said the refusals had not affected the naval mission.

NATO had voiced concern that the ships could be used in airstrikes in Syria, which it says have killed large numbers of civilians. Moscow denied the charges.

tj/sms (Reuters, dpa)

Source: DW.com

US warns extremists ‘may attack, kidnap or blow up’ Americans in Istanbul

October 23, 2016 by administrator

us-waren-istanbul-terror The US consul-general in Turkey has called on US citizens in Istanbul to steer clear of crowded public places and locations popular with tourists due to an imminent threat of attacks on US and other foreign nationals by extremist groups.

The security memo was published on the official consulate page on Saturday. While elaborating on the nature of the possible attacks that Americans can fall prey to, it listed “armed attack, attempted kidnapping, bombing, or other violent acts,” adding that they could be “pre-planned” and come “with little or no warning.”

For the sake of their safety, the consulate urged US citizens to reconsider their traveling plans, especially, if they are going to visit “locations where the westerners are known to frequent or reside.” Of particular concern are the major cities located in southeastern Turkey, in the border region with Syria.

Americans have been also cautioned to shun political gatherings and rallies as well as to avoid visiting places that attract large crowds and staying vigilant while visiting tourist spots.

Meanwhile, one policeman was killed and 16 people, including six officers, were injured in a car bomb blast in the eastern Turkish city of Bingöl, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported Saturday.

A car bomb went off as an armored police vehicle passed. While no one has claimed responsibility, Turkish police said the armed wing of the banned Kurdistan’s Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, could be behind the assault. An operation to arrest the perpetrators is under way.

Turkey has been experiencing a wave of terrorist attacks attributed either to the PKK or to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). On October 9, 18 people, including 10 policemen, were killed and 27 people injured in a car bomb explosion in the southeast Turkish town of Semdinli, located in an area that sees occasional heavy fighting between the Turkish army and Kurdish militias.

The deadliest terrorist attack this year took place at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport in June, killing 43 people and injuring 239. It was blamed by the Turkish authorities on Islamic State.

Turkish Terrorism from Syria to Washington state mall shooting: Turkish man arrested over five killed in Macy’s

September 25, 2016 by administrator

Suspected Cascade Mall shooter Arcan Cetin at Skagit County Jail in Mount Vernon, Washington, after his arrest in Oak Harbor Credit: Jeff Ritter/KIRO7.com via AP

David Millward, US Correspondent
20-year-old Turkish man is expected to appear in court on Monday on charges of killing five people at a Macy’s department store in Washington state, as the FBI said they were not ruling out an act of terrorism.

Arcan Cetin from Oak Harbor, Washington, offered no resistance when he was arrested on Saturday night, saying nothing and appearing to be in a “zombie-like” state, police said.

On Friday night he had entered a branch of Macy’s at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, just over 65 miles north of Seattle, and opened fire at the make-up counter. He killed four women, aged 16 to 95, instantly. A fifth victim, a man who was airlifted away from the scene, died later.

Cetin had a violent past, had been arrested for drunk driving and was recommended by a judge not to be allowed to own a firearm.

Skagit County court records show three domestic-violence assault charges against Cetin, with the victim identified as his stepfather.

Cetin was told by an Island County district court judge on December 29 that he was not to possess a firearm, but the stepfather urged the judge not to impose a no-contact order, which would require him to surrender his gun – saying his stepson was “going through a hard time”.

Cetin’s social media postings gave little hint of extremist tendencies, with his Twitter feed musing over Miley Cyrus, Turkish food, and the computer game Halo.

He also posted childhood photos with his family, and photos from a February 2015 paintballing day.

The previous month he had tweeted: “We win I vote for Hillary Clinton” – his only political reference.

But in April 2015, he had showed a flash of anger, tweeting: “Crazy how when you crack open someone’s shell they’re everything you spent your time running from.”

Marty Baldwin told The Seattle Times he allowed the suspected gunman, who was homeless at the time, to move in with him and his wife.

But Mr Baldwin kicked him out a few months later after learning the younger man was using and selling drugs, he said.

Mr Baldwin said he called 911 on Friday night, after recognising the man he knew as “Frankie” on TV.

Police on Saturday were unable to confirm reports he had yelled a woman’s name before opening fire.

It was unclear whether he knew his victims – Sarai Lara, 16, a cancer survivor and high school sophomore; Belinda Galde, 64, and her mother, 95-year-old Beatrice Dotson, and Shyla Martin, a 52-year-old Macy’s makeup counter employee.

Chuck Eagan, a Boeing maintenance worker, was also killed – shot while helping his wife flee the store.

Following the shooting Cetin was seen walking to a nearby interstate.

The FBI said that while they had no indication the attack was a “terrorism act,” it could not be ruled out.

Lt Mike Hawley, Island County sheriff, said he spotted Cetin from a patrol car on Saturday evening in Oak Harbor and immediately recognised him as the suspect. Lt Hawley said at a news conference they had received information that Cetin was in the area.

“I literally hit my brakes, did a quick turn, I jumped out,” he said. “We both jumped out with our guns, and he just froze.”

Cetin was unarmed and was carrying a satchel with a computer in it.

“He was kind of zombie-like,” said Lt Hawley.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/25/suspect-in-washington-state-shooting-captured/

Terrorists Could Capture US Nuclear Weapons at Turkey’s Incirlik Base

August 15, 2016 by administrator

Stimson Center think tank said that United States run the risk of losing control over dozens of nuclear weapons deployed at Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base to terrorists.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States run the risk of losing control over dozens of nuclear weapons deployed at Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base to terrorists, the Stimson Center think tank said Monday.

“The continued presence of these weapons at five sites in Europe, particularly in Turkey, raises serious risks of their seizure by terrorists or other hostile forces,” the center said in a new report titled “B61 Life Extension Program: Costs and Policy Considerations.”

In a statement accompanying the report’s publication, the think tank stressed that a protracted civil conflict in Turkey would make the fate of the weapons uncertain, citing the events during Turkey’s July 15 attempted coup.

The base was impacted significantly by the July 15 events and their aftermath. Former base commander Gen. Bekir Ercan Van was arrested over alleged involvement in the plot, while Turkish authorities cut the base’s electricity supply off and prohibited US planes from taking off.

“From a security point of view, it’s a roll of the dice to continue to have approximately 50 of America’s nuclear weapons stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, just 70 miles from the Syrian border…These weapons have zero utility on the European battlefield and today are more of a liability than asset to our NATO allies,” Laicie Heeley, a Stimson Center researcher and the report’s co-author, was quoted as saying in the statement.

The Stimson Center recommended the removal of all B61 bombs from Europe, stressing that a total over $6 billion could be saved by such a move.

Earlier in August, the US National Nuclear Security Administration approved the production engineering phase for the B61-12 life extension program as a part of the country’s drive to modernize it nuclear arsenal. The lives of over half of all B61 bombs are set to be extended.

The Incirlik base is used by the United States and US-led coalition combat planes when launching airstrikes in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State group, which is outlawed in many countries including Russia. The base is located in the city of Adana, several dozen miles from the Syrian border.

Source: http://sputniknews.com/world/20160815/1044272187/terrorists-us-nuclear-weapons.html

Turkey returned France priest killer to country in May 2015: Prosecutor

July 27, 2016 by administrator

People gather to pay their respects at the makeshift memorial in front of the city hall after closed to the church where an hostage taking left a priest dead the day before in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, France, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. AP photo

SAINT-ETIENNE-DU-ROUVRAY, France

One of the assailants who slit the throat of an elderly French priest in France on July 26 in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was returned to France in May after being detained in Turkey, the prosecutor looking into the incident said.

French Prosecutor Francois Molins told a news conference July 26 that Adel Kermiche, 19, had been known to the French authorities before the shock church attack in a Normandy town, according to AFP.

Kermiche and another unidentified man stormed the centuries-old stone church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, taking priest Jacques Hamel hostage along with three nuns and two worshippers before slitting the elderly cleric’s throat.

He lived in his parents’ modest home – less than two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the church – where he spent much of the day under curfew, fitted with an electronic tag while awaiting trial for alleged links to terror.

A family member had raised the alarm after Kermiche went missing destined for war-torn Syria in March 2015.

German authorities arrested him shortly afterwards as he attempted to transit the country using his brother’s identity.

He was returned to France where he was detained on March 23, 2015 for “criminal association in connection with terrorism” and preparing a terrorist act. He was released on bail but banned from leaving the Seine-Maritime region of northern France.

Six weeks later he fled the family home once again and was ultimately traced to Turkey where he was detained on May 13, 2015.

Turkey returned Kermiche to France, where he was arrested and remanded in custody before being released on bail subject to a curfew as he awaited trial for links to terrorism, Molins said.

“We knew he wanted to go to Syria,” said a 60-year-old neighbor of the assailant’s family, who added that he “never saw him go to the mosque” that the family attended.

“He never spoke to us,” said the neighbor.

“The last time I saw him was on Friday [July 22]. He was playing football in his garden.”

One of Kermiche’s acquaintances, a youngster from the area of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, told Le Parisien newspaper that he was a “hyperactive child” who was excluded from school at the age of 12 due to “behavior issues” – adding that he was a “time bomb.”

“He only spoke about Syria, and his dream of killing [Syrian President] Bashar [al-Assad’s] soldiers,” they said.
French daily Le Monde reported that Kermiche had struggled with psychological issues for much of his life, having been monitored from the age of six and hospitalized on several occasions in his teenage years – including 15 days in a specialist psychiatric unit.

Another of the town’s residents, a teenager who said he knew the attacker, told RTL radio he was not surprised by what happened July 26.

“He talked about it all the time… He spoke about Islam, that he was going to do stuff like that. He told me two months ago, ‘I’m going to do a church.’ I didn’t believe him. He said a lot of things,” said the teenager.

July/27/2016

Bulgaria Takes to Court Three Syrians on Charges of Terrorism

July 27, 2016 by administrator

Rumyana Arnaudova, spokesperson of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bulgaria.

Bulgarian prosecutors have charged three Syrian citizens with attempts to illegally cross the border into Turkey and travel onward to Syria to join as fighters the Islamic State and Muslim Brotherhood organizations, Sofia-based bTV broadcaster reported on Wednesday.

The thee men, aged 20, 22 and 25 years, had been granted refugee status in Germany. In January 2016 they decided to travel back to their home country to join Islamist militants, bTV said, citing a spokeswoman for the Bulgarian prosecution.

The Syrians, whose name bTV gave as Almohammad Abdulhamid, Al Abdallah Fadi and Al Fandi Yasim, entered Bulgaria from Greece on 7 February 2016 with the intention to enter Turkey and then reach Syria. They spent two days in the cities of Plovdiv and Sofia before travelling to the Border with Turkey.

Prosecutors found evidence of the plans of the three Syrians to become Islamist fighters in Syria on their mobile phones, both text and photos, according to the prosecution spokesperson.

The Syrians were detained by Bulgarian police while attempting to illegally cross the border into Turkey near the town of Svilengrad on 9 February.

A Bulgarian court will consider the charges against the three Syrian nationals on 2 August, bTV said. The Syrians face sentences of up to 10 years in jail, if convicted.

– See more at: http://www.novinite.com/articles/175653/Bulgaria+Takes+to+Court+Three+Syrians+on+Charges+of+Terrorism#sthash.pmasNunn.dpuf