Thursday, December 3, 2020

Islamic State 'is plotting Christmas terror attacks in UK and Europe

Aimen Dean, who spent eight years spying on al-Qaeda, claimed plots were being hatched in jihadi-held areas of northern Syria and Libya to terrorise Europeans this winter


 The so-called Islamic State is plotting Christmas terror attacks in Britain and European countries in revenge for the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in France, a former MI6 spy has warned.

Aimen Dean, who spent eight years spying on al-Qaeda before his cover was blown by a US intelligence leak, claimed plots were being hatched in jihadi-held areas of northern Syria and Libya to terrorise Europeans this winter. 

He told a security conference in London that Abu Omar al-Shishani, an Isis commander who is thought to have survived a US strike in 2016, is planning to send extremists to the West via Turkey and across the Mediterranean from North Africa.

They will then carry out a series of terror atrocities in Britain, France and Germany as their governments lift coronavirus restrictions ahead of Christmas, Dean said.

Home Secretary Priti Patel moved Britain to its second-highest terror threat level of 'severe' after a series of horrifying attacks in France and Austria, where an Isis sympathiser killed four people during a gun rampage in Vienna.

In France, schoolteacher Samuel Paty was beheaded in October for showing a classroom Mohammed cartoons in a lesson on free speech. Three Christians were killed in a mass stabbing by a Tunisian migrant in Nice just two weeks later. 

The French government vowed to clamp down on religious extremism by closing nearly 80 mosques accused of 'separatism' and expelling 66 undocumented migrants suspected of radicalisation from the country.

Dean told the International Security Week conference: 'The worry is that, according to people who know him, [Shishani] is planning to avenge the Prophet Mohammed cartoons in places like Germany, UK, France and all around Christmas time. 

A member of a special police unit stands guard near the site of a terrorist attack in Vienna


'I'm afraid I'm not bearing good news but we need to be worried about the wave of terror that is coming from northern Syria and Libya for Christmas this year.'

He added: 'This promise of no lockdown at Christmas has made it a more attractive timeframe for targeting. Already they have been thinking about it, already they have been looking at it and I feel this will be the next target.'  

The former al-Qaeda bombmaker claimed that Shishani is planning to infiltrate attacks from the remaining outposts of Isis activity following the republication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed by the French satirical Charlie Hebdo.

Extremists are thought to be planning terror atrocities in Britain, France and Germany as their governments lift coronavirus restrictions ahead of Christmas.


Emmanuel Macron had warned against 'Islamist separatism' in France and promised to place mosques under greater state control as he called Islam a religion in crisis 


Emmanuel Macron has warned against 'Islamist separatism' in France and promised to place mosques under greater state control as he called Islam a religion in crisis. 

After the New York Times accused Mr Macron of racism and Islamophobia, the French President criticised the paper's English-language coverage of France's stance on Islamic extremism in the wake of recent attacks in the country and suggesting that the Anglo-US press was legitimising terrorism in France. 

France's fiercely secular state was founded on the concept of laicite, which separates state institutions – including schools – from the influence of religion.  

However, this policy chafes with France's multicultural population, particularly Muslims, some of whom feel they have been unfairly targeted by secular policies including a ban on the wearing of some forms of Islamic dress in public spaces. 





https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9016179/Islamic-State-plotting-Christmas-terror-attacks-UK-Europe-ex-MI6-spy-warns.html?ito=push-notification&ci=57235&si=12789690







Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Royal Navy bomb disposal experts detonate 770lb WWII mine after it was caught by startled fishermen off the Clyde

 

The WWII mine was dropped by a German submarine off Aisla Craig more than 80 years ago. According to the Royal Navy, the mine, pictured, was in 'remarkable condition' and was still full of high explosives


Scottish fishermen were forced to call in Royal Navy divers after they hauled a 770lb German WWII mine in their nets on board their trawler near the Isle of Bute. 

The fishermen were rescued by the Troon Lifeboat and Rothesay Coastguard Rescue Team while the trawler travelled to rendezvous with the Northern Diving Group off based at Faslane. 

The mine, which was laid by a German submarine, was deployed off the island of Aisla Craig and snagged in the fishing boat's nets. 

The seven crew onboard the vessel were taken to safety before Royal Navy experts inspected the 770lb device. 

The naval bomb squad decided the device was in 'pristine condition' and should detonated in a controlled explosion. 

Navy divers carefully lowered the mine to the sea bed off Ettrick Beach where it was safely detonated sending a large tower of mud and water into the air.  

Lieutenant Commander Mark Shaw, Commanding Officer of Northern Diving Group said: Considering it had been in the water for around 80 years, the mine’s condition was remarkable. 

'From the initial pictures we were able to easily identify the mine type and, importantly, determine that the explosive fill was intact and therefore presented a significant hazard.

'The vessel was diverted to Ettrick Bay and met by my team, led by Petty Officer (Diver) Robert McCann who safely dealt with the situation.'

He continued: 'Items of this size are relatively uncommon, however, the group are approaching 100 call-outs this year supporting civil authorities with all types of Explosive Ordnance Disposal, ranging from mines and torpedoes to hand grenades and improvised devices.

'On average, across the UK, Royal Navy Clearance Divers are tasked once a day for EOD assistance. This highlights the remaining presence of historic ordnance. Even small items can be unstable and present an explosive hazard; carrying-out a controlled explosion is the only safe way of dealing with them and neutralising the hazard.' 










Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Baby girl who was thrown from her pram is among four killed and 15 hurt in German 'terror attack': Car ploughs through pedestrian zone that usually hosts Christmas market in city of Trier

 At least four people are dead, including a baby girl, and up to 15 others injured after a car drove into pedestrians in the German city of Trier today in what police say was a deliberate attack. 

A 51-year-old German man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after the car drove more than half a mile through the city's main pedestrian area, which usually hosts a popular Christmas market. 

Trier mayor Wolfram Leibe told regional broadcaster SWR that the driver had gone on 'a rampage' that had killed several people, but the motive for the attack was not yet clear.   

While authorities have not described it as a terror act, and security sources said they had no evidence of a 'political backdrop' to the attack, the incident has brought back memories of the 2016 Christmas market rampage in Berlin in which 12 people were killed. 

Describing today's attack, a witness told local paper Trierische Volksfreund that a dark grey Range Rover had driven at high speed into pedestrians, sending some people 'flying into the air'.  

His voice breaking with emotion, the mayor said a young girl was among the dead, saying he had seen one of her discarded shoes at the scene - while another witness described seeing a child's pram flung off the ground.   

Leibe said some of the injured people were seriously hurt and in hospital, saying he was hoping for their survival, but German media says the death toll has already risen from two to four.    

The driver is pinned to the ground next to the Range Rover believed to have run over pedestrians in Trier today, killing at least four people in what police say was a deliberate attack 


The car was stopped near the Porta Nigra, an old Roman gate, and the driver arrested at the scene - with footage showing him being pinned to the ground next to his damaged vehicle.   

Police spokesman Karl-Peter Jochem said the driver had 'indiscriminately' run people down after turning into the pedestrian area. 

The suspect, who lives locally, was being questioned in custody on Monday evening but authorities would not be drawn on a possible motive. 

One witness who watched the 'rampage' from a shop on the pedestrian street described seeing a children's buggy being flung into the air, saying people had run indoors in panic. 

The numbers of dead and injured were still becoming clear on Monday evening, but the death toll was already higher than the two that was first announced. 

In addition to the injured people, there were many other 'traumatised' pedestrians who were in shock after witnessing what had happened, the mayor said. 

'We often see pictures like this on television and think that can't happen here. Now it's happened in Trier,' the mayor told reporters near the Porta Nigra.  

Police said there was no further danger to Trier residents after the driver's arrest, suggesting that he had acted alone. He was arrested four minutes after the first emergency call, authorities said. .  

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman called today's news 'shocking' and said the government's thoughts were with the injured people and relatives of victims. 

Regional premier Malu Dreyer, who arrived at the scene on Tuesday evening, said she was deeply shaken by the events in the historic city which she described as her home town.   


At least two people were killed and several injured in Trier in south-western Germany today


After the driver's arrest, officers warned people to avoid the scene, and said they were on the scene alongside ambulance crews while helicopters were also hovering over the city. 

Footage showed police vans and other emergency vehicles parked on a wide shopping street in Trier, a large section of which appeared to have been cleared. 

Shoppers were seen huddling outside stores festooned with Christmas decorations, while sirens could be heard in the distance. Emergency services from nearby Luxembourg were also said to be on the scene. 

While Trier is usually home to one of Germany's most popular Christmas markets, the event was cancelled this year because of the pandemic. 

While bars and restaurants have closed under a so-called 'lockdown light' to bring down infections, shops and schools have remained open, unlike during the spring.  

The incident brought back memories of the 2016 truck rampage at a Berlin Christmas market that left 12 people dead.

The driver on that occasion, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker, was a supporter of the Islamic State jihadist group.

In August 2019, six people were injured in a series of motorway accidents in Berlin in what prosecutors described as a suspected Islamist attack. 

A square is blocked by police and fire engines following the incident in Trier on Tuesday














Friday, November 20, 2020

£1.5bn cyber force that will hack into terrorists’ mobiles

 A new British ‘cyber force’ will take down enemy computer systems and hack into enemy air defences to protect our warplanes.

Made up of both military personnel and spies from MI6 and GCHQ, the National Cyber Force will eventually be 3,000-strong.

It will also have teams hacking into terrorists’ mobile phones to stop their plots and into paedophiles’ online chat rooms to destroy their ‘vile material’.

Experts say the force will ‘help to prevent the internet from being used as a global platform for serious crimes, including sexual abuse of children and fraud’.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said its budget of £1.5billion over the next four years ‘will give us the capability to launch offensive cyber operations against our adversaries’ in ways not seen before.

Instead of using electromagnetic jamming to protect UK warplanes, Britain would hack into enemy air defences to stop them deploying missiles.

Mr Wallace said the force would also combat organised criminals linked to the Russian state. ‘We need sometimes our ability to deal with that problem,’ he added.

GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming said the force ‘brings together intelligence and defence capabilities to transform the UK’s ability to contest adversaries in cyber space, to protect the country, its people and our way of life’.

And Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab predicted it would become a ‘world-leading force for good, capable of conducting targeted, responsible cyber operations to protect our national security’.

However Mr Johnson hinted the move could come with a future cut in Armed Forces manpower, adding that the best military units would not be the largest but the 'most swiftest and most agile'. 

Mr Wallace meanwhile said the focus on recruitment would shift towards the new National Cyber Force in the future.

He added: 'Do I think the Armed Forces will be as big in five years's time as it is now? No, I don't. But what will drive that scale is going to be our equipment requirements and our threat.'  

'We shall forward deploy more of our naval assets in the world's most important regions, protecting the shipping lanes that supply our nation,' he told MPs.

Outlining a futuristic vision for the Armed Forces, the PM also said the warships will carry lasers which will make ammunition redundant.

He said: 'Our warships and combat vehicles will carry 'directed energy weapons', destroying targets with inexhaustible lasers and for them the phrase 'out of ammunition' will become redundant.'

Billions of pounds will be poured into a space centre amid soaring threats from Russia and China and also a new cyber centre made up of troops and spies. 

The new RAF Space Command will launch British satellites and the country's first rocket from Scotland in 2022.




https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8967919/PMs-16bn-defence-splurge-make-UK-greatest-naval-power-Europe-more.html?ito=push-notification&ci=52800&si=12789690

Britannia rules the waves again: Boris Johnson's £16bn defence splurge will make UK 'greatest naval power in Europe' once more

 Britain will become Europe's greatest naval power again after a £16.5billion boost to defence spending, Boris Johnson vowed yesterday.

The Prime Minister said he would 'restore Britain's position' as the ruler of the waves rather than allow the UK to 'curl up in our island and leave the task to our friends'.

Billions of pounds of the extra defence cash would go towards the next generation of warships, including advanced new Type 32 frigates which will be armed with lasers. 

France has 23 warships, comprising 11 destroyers, 11 frigates and its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle – currently more than the UK.

Billions of pounds of the extra defence cash would go towards the next generation of warships, including advanced new Type 32 frigates which will be armed with lasers




But Royal Navy sources were keen to point out that many of its ships are 'old' and small, adding that with the addition of approximately five new Type 32 frigates, the UK will have 26 warships by the 2030s.

A Navy source said: 'If you look at the list of the French ships, some of those are getting on for 20 years old. This is going to be the most modern fleet in Europe.'

In a speech to the Commons yesterday, Mr Johnson said: 'We shall use our extra defence spending to restore Britain's position as the foremost naval power in Europe, taking forward our plans for eight Type 26 and five Type 31 frigates, and support ships to supply our carriers.

'We are going to develop the next generation of warships, including multi-role research vessels and Type 32 frigates.

'And this will spur a renaissance of British shipbuilding across the UK – in Glasgow and Rosyth, Belfast, Appledore and Birkenhead – guaranteeing jobs and illuminating the benefits of the Union in the white light of the arc welder's torch.'

He added: 'If there was one policy which strengthens the UK in every possible sense, it is building more ships for the Royal Navy.'

Defence spending is to increase by £16.5billion above the Tories' manifesto commitment over four years. 

The Government had already pledged to raise spending by 0.5 per cent above inflation for every year of this parliament. The total amounts to £24.1billion more.

Mr Johnson said both Britain's new aircraft carriers, which cost £6.2billion in total, will be operational in 2023, with HMS Queen Elizabeth heading to the Indian Ocean and East Asia next year.




https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8967919/PMs-16bn-defence-splurge-make-UK-greatest-naval-power-Europe-more.html?ito=push-notification&ci=52800&si=12789690





Friday, November 6, 2020

COVID-19 is changing the map of cyber-crime activity, says British spy agency

 


THE CYBER-SECURITY BRANCH of Britain’s signals intelligence agency has said in a new report that the coronavirus pandemic is changing the map of cyber-crime by illicit actors, including state-sponsored hackers. The unclassified report was released on Tuesday by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is the cyber-security branch of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Founded over a century ago, the GCHQ is responsible for, among other things, securing the communications systems of the British government and the country’s armed forces.

In its latest Annual Review, the NCSC warns that “criminals and hostile states” are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic in order to challenge the national security of Britain and its allies. In an introductory note included in the report, NCSC director Jeremy Fleming says that the balance of cyber-threats has changed in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. According to the report, British cyber-security agencies saw a 10% rise in serious cyber-threat incidents in 2020. More than a third of these incidents were related to COVID-19, and many targeted Britain’s healthcare sector.

The report suggests that attacks against the British National Healthcare Service and vaccine research facilities constitute a rapidly emerging cyber-espionage risk. The majority of these attacks were carried out by state-sponsored actors, including Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) 29, which is also known as “Cozy Bear” and “The Dukes”. According to Western intelligence services, APT29 is a Russian state-sponsored cyber-espionage outfit, which has been known to target facilities involved in the development of coronavirus-related vaccines.

Other cyber-threat actors have no connections to foreign governments, but are instead motivated by profit. The NCSC said it had managed to disrupt over 15,000 campaigns by cyber-criminals to use coronavirus as a bait in order to trick unsuspecting Internet users into downloading malicious software or providing personal information online. Some cyber-criminal networks contacted clinics and other businesses who were in desperate need of personal protective equipment, coronavirus testing kits, and even purported cures against the virus, said the NCSC. Some of these unsuspecting victims were offered fictitious quantities of coronavirus-related equipment, which were never delivered.


 Author: Ian Allen

https://intelnews.org/2020/11/05/01-2897/

Monday, November 2, 2020

Vienna synagogue shootings: 'Several dead' and police officer shot in 'terror attack'

 


Several people are dead and a police officer is among the injured after a suspected terror attack carried out by multiple suspects near a synagogue in Vienna.

Austria's interior minister has said on state broadcaster ORF TV that it's suspected to be a terror attack and that the shooting is believed to have been carried out by several people.

The interior ministry also said one suspect has been arrested, APA has said.

The same TV station is also reporting that several people were killed.

Austrian news agency APA also quoted the country's interior ministry as saying that one attacker has been killed and another could be on the run.

A police officer was shot and seriously injured, the APA news agency also said, citing Austria's interior ministry.

Police have confirmed the gunfire and said several people are injured.

This is an on-going situation with multiple incidents continuing,  also multiple incidents in France none of these are yet confirmed.

https://news.sky.com/story/one-dead-in-exchanges-of-fire-in-central-vienna-12122166  


Thursday, October 29, 2020

Jihadists celebrate Nice terror attack as ISIS and al-Qaeda supporters call for more attacks against France in sickening online propaganda

 Online jihadists celebrated the latest terror attack on France today after three people were murdered by a knifeman in Nice on a day which also saw a gunman killed in Avignon and a guard attacked at a French consulate in Saudi Arabia

The latest in a long line of violent attacks in France was 'already being celebrated massively across jihadi communities' by late Thursday, according to the SITE Intelligence monitoring group. 

SITE director Rita Katz said it was 'hard to recall social media celebration this massive for terrorism' with jihadists taking to Twitter and Facebook to welcome the latest grisly murders. 

No group has yet claimed responsibility for today's violence, but it comes amid high tensions between France and the Muslim world after a teacher was beheaded for showing Prophet Mohammed cartoons to his class two weeks ago. 

An armed French police officer secures a street near the entrance of the Notre Dame Basilica in Nice where three people were murdered in a terror attack today 

Katz said that jihadists were celebrating the attackers 'freedom of action' after three violent episodes in the space of a few hours. 

'These new attacks comes amid a massive and enduring wave of jihadi media condemning France and its cartoonists,' she said. 

A report by SITE said that jihadists were 'overjoyed' by the news from Nice, Avignon and Saudi Arabia today.  

Extremists linked to both ISIS and al-Qaeda have seized on the beheading of Samuel Paty earlier this month to incite more attacks against France. 

Katz said that the 'prospect of co-ordination' between the various attackers seemed 'increasingly plausible', although not confirmed. 

The Nice attack began around 9am at the Notre Dame basilica where a knifeman killed a male church warden, an elderly female parishioner and a second woman, wounded several others, and was then shot and arrested by police.  

Both ISIS and Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks, which were the beginning of a wave of terrorism across France. 

Anger at France has not been confined to extremists, with many in the Islamic world staging protests and calling for boycotts over Charlie Hebdo's controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. 

Macron has vowed to defend freedom of expression and the right to insult religion, but leaders of Muslim countries have warned his stance could lead to violence. 

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been among those to feud with France, reacting angrily to an offensive cartoon of him on the front of Charlie Hebdo.

'I don't need to say anything to those scoundrels who insult my beloved prophet on such a scale,' Erdogan said on Wednesday, calling it a 'disgusting attack'.

Erdogan's top press aide today sought to fend off suggestions that Turkey's strident rhetoric had encouraged violence. 

'We will continue to confront any politician who insults our religion and values,' Fahrettin Altun said, condemning the attacks in Nice. 

'We feel we owe no apology to anyone for expressing our strong opposition to racism and xenophobia. We categorically deny any effort to associate us with any kind of violence.'

Abdallah Zekri, director general of the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM), also condemned the attack in Nice today. 

'I can only denounce as strongly as possible this act of cowardice against the innocent,' he said. 

Zekri called on French Muslims to cancel festivities to mark Mohammed's birthday, which end on Thursday, 'in solidarity with the victims and their loved ones.'

There was also condemnation of today's attack from abroad, with UK prime minister Boris Johnson saying he was 'appalled' by news of a 'barbaric attack'. 

'Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and the UK stands steadfastly with France against terror and intolerance,' the PM said. 

Angela Merkel's spokesman said the German chancellor was 'deeply shocked about the gruesome murders in a church in Nice'. 

Italy's prime minister Giuseppe Conte condemned a 'vile attack' but vowed it 'will not shake the common front defending the values of freedom and peace.'  


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8893873/Jihadists-celebrate-Nice-terror-attack-ISIS-al-Qaeda-call-violence.html?ito=push-notification&ci=45505&si=12789690


Knife attack in Nice: Woman decapitated as three die in 'suspected terror incident'

 

Several people have been injured in the attack, French police said

A woman has been decapitated in a suspected terror attack in Nice, French police say.

Three people have died and several others are injured after a knife attack took place near the Notre Dame church.

In a separate incident shortly after, French police confirmed a man was shot dead near Avignon, after threatening passers-by with a handgun in the district of Montfavet.

A woman is comforted at the scene in Nice

In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a man was arrested after stabbing and wounding a guard at the French consulate, state media reported.
Nice's mayor Christian Estrosi tweeted the attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar" several times. "Everything suggests a terrorist attack," he added.





Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Trump plans to axe defense secretary, FBI, CIA directors, if re-elected.

 


IF RE-ELECTED IN NOVEMBER, United States President Donald Trump has laid out plans to replace the secretary of defense, as well as the directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), according to a new report. The website Axios, which published the report on Sunday, said the US president and his senior advisors have drafted a much longer list of names of senior military and intelligence officials who will be axed in November. However, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, FBI Director Christopher Wray and CIA Director Gina Haspel top the list, said Axios.

The website cited two sources who have allegedly discussed with President Trump himself the fate of these and other officials. The sources told Axios that CIA Director Haspel is “despised and distrusted almost universally” within the president’s inner circle, whose members view her motives with “a lot of suspicion”. Another source familiar with “conversations at the CIA” told Axios that Haspel intends to step down —and possibly retire— “regardless of who wins the election” in November.

Trump is also “incensed” with FBI Director Wray, because he told Congress last month that the Bureau had not detected significant election-related fraud with either online activity or mail-in ballots, according to Axios. Additionally, the president reportedly lost trust in Defense Secretary Esper after he objected to the White House’s plan to deploy active-duty military personnel in major American cities, in response to popular protests sparked by allegations of abusive practices by law enforcement.

Axios added that, despite President Trump’s critical comments about his Attorney General, William Barr, in recent weeks, he has no “formal plans” to replace him at the present time.

Author: Joseph Fitsanakis


https://intelnews.org/2020/10/26/01-2891/




Israel's Mossad 'obtains Chinese vaccine' in bid to fight pandemic

 


ISRAELI intelligence agency Mossad has brought China's coronavirus vaccine back to Israel for research purposes, according to media reports.

As a second wave of the deadly pathogen sweeps through Europe, Israeli scientists are now thought to be studying the content of the  coronavirus vaccine. According to Israeli media reports, Mossad, the nation's international intelligence agency, has successfully obtained a Chinese-developed new coronavirus vaccine. Israel's Channel 12 said multiple government sources had indirectly confirmed Mossad had secured samples of the Chinese vaccine. Mossad has recently teamed up with the Health Ministry in a bid to fight the pandemic.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to be prepared.

The Israeli prime minister said: “We do not know what the next day, or the next month, will bring.

Israel's use of its spy agency to obtain the Chinese vaccine may be an effort to circumvent having to conduct the vaccine transfer diplomatically.

Tel Aviv may have hoped Mossad's quiet purchase of the vaccine would not draw the attention of the US to their dealings with Beijing.

Obtaining the Chinese vaccine could complicate matters with the US amid increased tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Israeli is also developing its own coronavirus vaccine, called Brilife.

Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz said recently: “This is a day of hope for the citizens of Israel.

“Just two months ago, I received the first bottle of the vaccine.

"Today, we already have 25,000 vaccine doses.”

A senior official with knowledge of the Israeli Ministry of Health said that nation is trying to acquire potential new coronavirus vaccines from other nations.

The official told the Jerusalem Post: “We have made a number of diplomatic efforts behind the scenes.

"We are doing everything we can to ensure that Israeli citizens get the vaccine as soon as possible.”


https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1352728/coronavirus-vaccine-china-vaccine-Israel-mossad-covid19