Violence and Terrorism News and Discussions

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[Time_Traveller]

Russia refuses to blame IS for concert hall attack despite growing evidence

Mon 25 Mar 2024 11.22 GMT

The Kremlin has declined to comment on growing evidence that the Afghan branch of Islamic State (IS), known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), masterminded the terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall in Moscow that left 137 people dead.

Asked by reporters whether the Kremlin recognised IS was behind the attack, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said: “You ask a question related to the progress of the investigation. We do not comment on that in any way. We have no right to do so. But we urge you to rely on the information provided by our law enforcement agencies.”

Reporters also asked why Vladimir Putin and Russian authorities did not mention IS as a possible organiser of the attack.

“The investigation continues. No solid theory has been announced just yet. This is only a matter of preliminary information,” Peskov said.

Putin claimed without evidence that Ukraine had aided the attackers and had planned to “open a window” for the gunmen to escape.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... g-evidence

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[Time_Traveller]

Islamic State advance could lay ground for new wave of attacks, say analysts

Thu 28 Mar 2024 16.27 GMT

Islamic State (IS) remains defeated in its core strongholds of the Middle East but has made significant progress in Africa and parts of south Asia, winning territory and resources that could serve as a launchpad for a new campaign of extremist violence, analysts and officials believe.

European governments have moved to their highest levels of alert for years after the attack on a concert hall in Moscow last week by militants from IS which killed 140 people.

Within 48 hours, France increased its surveillance and risk warning to the highest level and Italy too ordered enhanced measures. In Germany, officials described an “acute risk”.

The attack in Moscow, the most lethal Islamist extremist operation ever in Europe, was claimed by IS which, officials believe, has been planning new operations against European targets for several years.

Between 2015 and 2019, when IS ran a so-called caliphate across a swath of land it controlled across eastern Syria and western Iraq, the group’s central leadership had little need of its newly established affiliates to launch operations in Europe as it had all resources to hand with foreign recruits, money and training camps. This led to a series of lethal attacks in France and Belgium.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... alysts-say

[Time_Traveller]

War in Sudan: More than 100 settlements set on fire with over quarter targeted more than once

Friday 29 March 2024 03:53, UK

New analysis, shared exclusively with Sky News, reveals 180 separate incidents of settlements in Sudan being set on fire, with 108 villages, towns and cities affected since the start of the war.

More than a quarter (27%) of the 108 settlements where burnings have been verified by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) have been targeted more than once since April 2023.

On 15 April, 2023, violent clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Many of these fires have been attributed to the RSF and local level disputes.



The fires are another element of a war that has resulted in the forced displacement of millions of people and human rights abuses including more than 100 incidents of sexual violence observed by the UN.

Sir Nicholas Kay, a former British ambassador to Sudan, told Sky News the repeated fires may be a "deliberate attempt to... instil a great level of fear and extreme violence to subdue and remove the population", and "a determined consistent effort to ensure people leave and don't come back ever".

https://news.sky.com/story/war-in-sudan ... e-13102886

[Time_Traveller]

Man holds several people hostage inside Dutch cafe

4 minutes ago

Several people have been taken hostage at a popular cafe in an eastern Dutch town, police say.

A man entered the premises of Café Petticoat, a nightclub in Ede, early in the morning threatening to blow himself up, local media reported.

Armed police evacuated the area, but said there was "no indication of a terrorist motive at this time".

They later said three people had been released, but the "situation is not over yet".

Residents in about 150 homes around the area have been evacuated and the town centre has been closed down.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68698022

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At least 7 shot, all under age 17, in mass shooting near Indianapolis mall

Source: NBC News via AOL

Seven children were injured in a shooting outside a mall in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday night, police said.

Indianapolis police officers were on patrol when they heard gunshots just after 11:30 p.m. and arrived on a block outside Circle Centre Mall. According to police, officers saw six people injured with gunshot wounds.

All of the victims were ages 12 to 17, police said.

Emergency medical services took the children to hospitals, and a seventh person, also under 18, arrived at a hospital on their own. One victim was in critical condition, and the six others were stable.

Read more: https://www.aol.com/news/least-7-shot-u ... 53309.html

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Finland school shooting: 12-year-old arrested after fellow pupil dies

Tue 2 Apr 2024 13.03 BST

A 12-year-old child has died and two others have been seriously wounded in a school shooting in Finland.

The suspect, a fellow pupil, ran off after the shooting but was later arrested, police said. He was holding a licensed handgun owned by a close relative and admitted carrying out the shooting in an initial interview, they added.

The shooting took place on Tuesday morning at the Viertola school in Vantaa, a suburb of the capital, Helsinki. The school has about 800 pupils from first to ninth grade and a staff of 90 people, according to the local municipality.

Police said the suspect and the victims were 12 years old.

“Together, we thought that as a society we would have learned from previous school shootings. Such a day should not have happened,” the national police chief, Seppo Kolehmainen, said at a press conference in Vantaa.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... ren-vantaa

[wjfox]

Security raised for Champions League ties after threat

3 minutes ago

Security will be increased at Champions League games this week after a media outlet supporting the Islamic State group published threats against venues.

A pro-IS media channel has published multiple posters calling for attacks at stadiums hosting quarter-final ties on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Uefa said it was aware of the threats but said games in Madrid, Paris and London would go ahead as planned.

Ministers in both France and Spain have confirmed enhanced security measures.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said there would be "considerably reinforced" security measures in place when PSG play Barcelona in Paris on Wednesday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68769669



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