Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Police foil UK terror plot by arresting six people after raids in London, Burton and Derby

Police have foiled an alleged Islamist terror plot in the UK after raiding a suspected bomb making factory in the East Midlands.
Six people were arrested when counter-terrorism officers swooped on addresses in Derby, Burton upon Trent and London in the early hours of Monday morning.
Bomb disposal experts also attended one property amid fears that the alleged plotters were storing chemicals and other explosive materials ahead of a planned attack on a UK target.
Five men, aged 22, 27, 35 and 36 and a 32-year-old woman were held and were being questioned on suspicion of engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism, while six addresses were being searched for evidence.
Security chiefs ordered the raids after receiving intelligence that a terror plot was being planned in the East Midlands region.
Police confirmed the arrests were all linked to "international related terrorism"  and it is thought they were inspired by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil), which has increasingly sought to export its murderous tactics to Britain.
The first arrest took place on Sunday night when a worker at a chicken factory was arrested at a warehouse in the Ashbourne area of Derby.
Workers at the Moy Park Poultry factory described how armed police had stormed into the unit and detained the worker, who was described as "popular but quiet".
One fellow worker said: "It's incredibly shocking to come into work and here about the arrest. This is just a normal factory. We have seen CCTV footage from it happening last night.
"Everybody at the factory is talking about it. The CCTV shows him being held down on the floor. It's even more shocking because the man is a really nice bloke. Everybody likes him. He works hard and just gets on with it."

Six people were arrested during anti-terror raids

Several hours later armed officers moved into the Normanton area of Derby, close to the city centre, where they raided a semi-detached property, which was thought to consist of four rented bedsits.
The property is just half-a-mile from the former home of British suicide bomber Kabir Ahmed.
In February 2012 he became the first person in the UK to be convicted of "distributing threatening written material to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation."
He was jailed for 15 months after he handed out leaflets outside a mosque showing a mannequin hanging from a tree in relation to gay people. In November 2014 Ahmed killed himself in a suicide bombing attack on a police station in Iraq.

Bomb disposal specialists attended an address in Derby

Residents on Leopold Street described waking up to find bomb disposal experts and forensic officers crawling all over the area, which had been sealed off by armed officers.
While no adjoining properties were evacuated, locals leaving their homes were told to leave the area quickly and quietly while searches were taking place.
The landlord of the house, Ravi Kumar, was unaware of the arrests when contacted on Monday night, but claimed that the property was occupied by an ever-changing list of asylum seekers put there by a housing association.
Mr Kumar, who is the brother of Ashok Kumar, the former Labour MP who died suddenly at the age of 53 shortly before the 2010 general election, said there was a "constant change of people" and that the terms of the housing association's lease meant that he had little to do with them.
Brett Granger, 26, who lives just yards from the scene, said: "I went to go to work this morning around 5:30am and had two men in army uniforms, a man in a white forensic suit, and a police officer who wasn't in uniform just outside the front of my house.
"There was a huge white van and two police cars blocking the street from both ends. Police told me to leave the area quickly.
"From what I could see and because of the army presence I assumed the huge white truck was a bomb squad truck.
"When I opened the door I was a bit shocked as I only live a few doors down from where it was all happening. Scary to think things like this are happening so close to home."

Police were searching six addresses
Local councillor Fareed Hussain said: "It's a shock to the system to hear of these arrests in my ward. There were terror-related arrests in the Arboretum ward around eight years ago but I don't think there has been anything since then.
"The banned Al-Muhajiroun group were quite visible six or seven years ago and they were causing problems by preaching in the street and outside mosques in the city.
"They were quite intimidating. However, we as the Muslim community, have not heard anything of them or other extremism activity for a number of years.  I think they have been driven underground and operating more discreetly."
Other properties were also being searched in Burton upon Trent, around ten miles away and in London, where a 32-year-old woman was arrested.
The investigation was being led by the North East counter terrorism unit (Nectu) supported by officers from Derbyshire, Staffordshire and the Metropolitan Police.
In a statement, Nectu said: "All six arrests were carried out under terrorism legislation, meaning officers have an initial 48 hours to charge, release or apply for a warrant of further detention. The arrests are linked to International-related terrorism."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/12/six-held-anti-terror-raids-london-burton-derby/





Cairo Coptic church bomber has ties to ISIS in Sinai

The terrorist who carried out the bombing at the Coptic church in Cairo was reportedly affiliated with the Sinai branch of ISIS, Egyptian security officials told the London-based newspaper Al Hayat on Tuesday.

According to the report, the terrorist was involved in attacks against the Egyptian military in the peninsula and his name was tied last night to a legal case that pertains to the terror organization.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4892285,00.html 

ISIS militants cut off regime supply route in Syria’s Homs

ISIS-589940.jpg

Militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Tuesday made new gains in their fight with the Syrian Army forces in the central governorate of Homs.
ISIS fighters captured the main road between al-Qaryatain town and Homs city, which used to be a key supply route for the Syrian regime’s army forces.
The radical group seized control of the supply-line after capturing military checkpoints that were previously held by the Syrian regime’s troops.
“Subsequent to clashes with the Syrian Army forces, ISIS fighters took over four checkpoints in the vicinity of al-Qaryatain, which enabled the group to block the army’s supply route,” local media activist Amro al-Hussein told ARA News.
“The route was a main supply line for the Syrian Army in Homs Governorate. The army forces have been relying on this route to send military reinforcements from al-Qaryatain town to the T4 Airbase and further into Homs city,” al-Hussein reported.
This comes just one day after the Islamic State militants assaulted the T4 Military Airport, breaching its defenses with mortar batteries and heavy machine guns. Located in the Homs’ eastern countryside, the T4 Airport is a critical security installation, providing regime forces with close air support.
Earlier on Sunday, the hardline group recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra in Homs Governorate. Activists and military sources confirmed the rout, reporting that the army had been forced to withdraw under fire.
“The army withdrew after the clashes reached the city center and it became impossible for them to push ISIS back,” media activist Abas al-Omar reported.
Russia had supported the Syrian Army in Palmyra, with airstrikes and logistical support but their efforts were apparently insufficient to save the city.

http://aranews.net/2016/12/isis-militants-cut-off-regime-supply-route-in-syrias-homs/