Manhunt Underway in Paris After Gunmen Attack Magazine Office
January 7, 2015 in France
French officials have confirmed that twelve people have been killed and eleven injured after gunmen attacked the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Police have launched a major operation in the Paris area in their hunt for the attackers who escaped shortly after the attack. While police officials have not yet commented on the incident, sources have reported that this attack may stem for the magazine’s recent tweet, which depicted a cartoon of the Islamic State militant group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The tweet came shortly after the Islamic State threatened to attack France. The satirical weekly magazine has in the past been targeted for its irreverent take on news and current affairs. French President Francois Hollande is currently at the scene and is planning to hold an emergency cabinet meeting.
The office of Charlie Hebdo, located in Paris’ 11th arrondissement, was attacked at about midday on Wednesday. The attack occurred as staff members were attending their weekly editorial meeting. An eyewitness has reported “two black-hooded men entered the building with Kalashnikovs…a few minutes later we heard lots of shot.” Sources have reported that the two gunmen were wearing black balaclavas, khaki ammunition pouches and were armed with Kalashnikovs and a rocket-propelled grenade. They were heard shouting “Allahu Akbar.” Sources have indicated that three men, described by a police union spokesman as “commandos,” are currently on the run. They fled in a getaway car that was driven by a fourth suspect shortly after a shootout in the street with police officers.
Officials have confirmed that twelve people have been killed. Two of those killed are police officers while the remaining are journalists. One source has reported that some of the magazine’s cartoonists, including the editor in chief and graphic artist, are among the dead. Five of those wounded are critically injured and officials have warned that the death toll may increase in the coming hours. Speaking to reporters at the scene, French President Francois Hollande indicated that there was no doubt that this was a terrorist attack “of exceptional barbarity.” The president is due to give a televised address this evening at 8 PM Paris time. Both the White House and UK Prime Minister David Cameron have condemned the attack in Paris.
In the wake of this attack, France has reinforced security at places of worship, shops, media offices and transportation. France’s security level has now been raised to the highest alert. Police have also warned French media to be on alert and to pay attention to security following this attack. Wednesday’s attack ranks as one of the deadliest attacks on Paris since 1995, when a bomb exploded at the Saint-Michel subway station, killing eight.
France was already on high alert for Islamist attacks after several incidents occurred just before Christmas. Cars were driven at shoppers in two cities, Dijon and Nantes, and police officials were attacked by a man wielding a knife in the central town of Joue-les-Tours. While at the time the French government denied that the attacks were linked, officials later announced plans to further raise security in public spaces, including the deployment of around 300 soldiers.
Threats Failed to Silence Magazine
The office of Charlie Hebdo magazine in central Paris have been targeted in the past over the magazine’s controversial content.
In the early morning hours of 2 November 2011, the paper’s office was fire-bombed just hours after an issue featuring a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, in which the religious figure was listed as “editor-in-chief.” The provocative move was not unusual for the magazine, which for the past several decades has been making fun of politics and religion.
In 1969, just one year after its launch, the magazine was banned by the Minister of the Interior after it mocked the media coverage of the death of former French president Charles de Gaulle. The paper, which was then known as Hara-Kiri Hebdo, later changed its name in order to sidestep the ban. While the magazine folded in 1981, it was reborn in 1992, with the first edition selling 100,000 copies. The magazine has on several occasions been warned over its publications. In 2006, then French President Jacques Chirac warned “over provocations’ of other religions should be avoided. The warning came after the paper’s front page depicted a cartoon of a weeping Prophet Mohammed. The magazine has not only targeted Islam, but other religions as well. In 2008, accusations of anti-Semitism were laid against a veteran cartoonist who was later fired. In September 2012, in the aftermath of attacks on US embassies in the Middle East, the magazine published more satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. That publication resulted in security being increased at several French embassies and riot police being stationed outside the paper’s office in order to ensure security.
ISIS emir beheaded after execution video released
January 6, 2015 in ISIS, Syria, Terrorism6 January – A top figure from within ISIS police forces has been has been found decapitated in Syria. The man was an Egyptian national, believed to be the deputy “emir” of the al-Hesbah force in a Syrian province. His body was found near a power plant in Deir-al-Zor province, where heavy fighting has taken place in the last month. Reports indicated that his body showed signs of torture; the head was allegedly found with a cigarette left in its mouth, while the sentence “O Sheikh this is munkar (hateful and evil thing)” was written on his body. It is believed that ISIS has banned residents in areas under its control from drinking or smoking. Shop owners found guilty of selling cigarettes in some of its strongholds have been publicly flogged. It is unknown whether the man was killed by ISIS, local residents, or foreign fighters.
The alleged beheading comes after ISIS released gruesome photos purporting to show the brutal execution of Iraqi police and men it accused of informing on the group. A video entitled ‘Day of Retribution’ showed eight captives wearing microphones before being shot dead by 12 militants. The officers were accused of spying on ISIS on behalf of the Iraqi military, and identifying targets for US led coalition strikes on ISIS targets. In the video the men are seen in kneeling on the ground wearing orange uniforms, similar to those worn by prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
The officers are shown blindfolded and handcuffed as ISIS fighters march them along the edge of a river. The men were forced to kneel on the shore underneath a bridge and executed with a bullet to the back of the head.
Boko Haram Captures Army Base
January 5, 2015 in NigeriaOfficials confirmed Sunday that the militant group Boko Haram has seized control of a town and key multinational military base in northeastern Nigeria, in what appears to be the latest advance by the group to create an Islamic State.
A senator in Borno state confirmed Sunday that troops had abandoned the base, which is located in the town of Baga, after militants attacked the town on Saturday. Residents of Baga, who fled by boat to neighbouring Chad, have disclosed that many people were killed in the attack, adding that the town was later set ablaze. Several residents reported that they had woken to heavy gunfire as militants stormed Baga early on Saturday, attacking from all directions. Some eyewitnesses disclosed that they had decided to flee after seeing the multi-national troops deserting their posts. Communications with the town remain cut off and exact information about casualty numbers have not been confirmed.
Boko Haram’s takeover of Baga is significant as the town, which was the scene of a Nigerian army massacre in 2013, was the last in the Borno North area still under the government’s control. The town also hosted the base of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which is composed of troops from Nigeria and neighbouring Chad and Niger. Sources have confirmed that the base is now under Boko Haram’s control. The MNJTF was set up in 1998 and tasked to fight trans-border crime in the Lake Chad region. Most recently, the task force was charged with combatting Boko Haram.
Over the past month, Boko Haram has intensified its attacks on towns and villages, carrying out almost daily attacks. The militant group has also launched several mass kidnappings, taking captive hundreds, including young boys and girls. Many believe that the militant group is attempting to replenish its ranks as its aims to solidify its grip on the areas of northeastern Nigerian already under its control. The Nigerian military, which includes Western advisers and surveillance, has been incapable of dealing with the growing problem, which is now rapidly transforming into a region-wide threat. Nigeria’s home-grown Boko Haram group has begun regionalizing the conflict, launching a several attacks across the border into Cameroon in recent weeks.
2014: The Year Cyber Danger Doubled
January 2, 2015 in UncategorizedAs reported by ASIS 30 December, 2014
Former Michigan CISO Dan Lohrmann says 2014 saw cyber danger double, with ever more and larger cyberattacks, greater investments in cybersecurity, and growing public awareness of cyberthreats. Although 2013 was already a huge year for cyber issues, including the Edward Snowden leaks and the Target data breach, the big cybersecurity stories simply kept coming in 2014. Lorhmann points to numerous doublings in this realm, from reports at the costs of data breaches have doubled, military spending on cyber defense doubling, the number of cyber insurance policies doubling, and so forth. The government has been hit repeatedly, with the hack of the U.S. Postal Service only the most prominent such event occurring this year. Surveys show growing awareness of cybersecurity among the public, with a recent Gallup poll finding that having a phone or computer is now the second most-feared crime in America. All of the cyber news in 2014 came to a head with the Sony hack at the end of November, arguably the biggest cybersecurity story ever, which has grown from a leak of embarrassing emails and business secrets into an issue of national security and national pride. Lohrmann says the attention paid to cybersecurity will only increase in 2015, even as the Internet of Things and continuing trends such as cloud computing and mobile security continue to generate new threats and areas of concern……
Suspect Vessel Intercepted by Italian Authorities
January 1, 2015 in UncategorizedROME — Italian authorities took control Tuesday of a cargo ship carrying hundreds of migrants after the crew disappeared and set it on a programmed route to crash into a coast, officials said.
The alarm was first raised about the Moldovan-flagged Blue Sky M after a passenger sent a distress call earlier Tuesday when the ship was off Greece. Greek authorities scrambled a navy frigate and helicopter, but the captain said the vessel wasn’t in distress and didn’t require assistance.
The ship then headed on its own toward Italy. As it neared Santa Maria di Leuca, on the southernmost tip of the “heel” of boot-shaped Italy, Italian port authorities dispatched two helicopters as a precaution and boarded the ship with a team of six coast guard officials.
Coast guard spokesman Cmdr. Filippo Marini said the team took control of the ship after determining there was no crew to be found. He said the Italians “avoided disaster” by interrupting the programmed route that would have had the ship crash into shore.
He said the motor had been blocked, and that the Italian crew was trying to unblock it so that it could be safely brought into port.
Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees, most fleeing conflict or poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, attempt to reach the European Union each year, most heading by sea to Italy or Greece.
The smugglers who organize the trips often abandon the ships before they reach shore to avoid arrest.
The operation came two days after a Greek-operated ferry caught fire between Greece and Italy with the loss of at least 11 lives, prompting a two-day search and rescue effort.
