Tag Archives: US

MH17: Team to Pinpoint Missile Launch Site

An international team of prosecutors investigating the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014 released its findings on 28 September, stating that the missile, which downed the plane “came from Russia.”

The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which has been investigating the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine and which includes prosecutors from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, disclosed Wednesday that the Buk missile that hit the plane was transported from Russia. According to chief Dutch police investigator Wilbert Paulissen, “based on the criminal investigation, we have concluded that flight MH17 was downed by a Buk missile of the series 9M83 that came from the territory of the Russian Federation.” He added that the missile launcher, which fired one missile from the village of Pervomaysk, was later taken back to Russia. During a news conference, prosecutors played recordings from intercepted phone calls. They further stated that witnesses reported seeing the missile launcher move from Russia into Ukraine and presented pictures and videos, adding that the launch site was pinpointed by “many witnesses.” Prosecutors noted however that it was not clear whether an order had been given for fighters to launch the missile or whether they had acted independently. The investigative team has identified 100 people who were described as being of interest to them however they have not yet formally identified individual suspects.

An earlier inquiry by the Dutch Safety Board concluded that a Russian-made Buk missile had hit the plane. The Safety Board (DSB) report disclosed in October 2015 that the missile was fired from a 320 square kilometre area southeast of where the plane came down, with the head of the DSB disclosing that the area was under rebel control.

Pro-Russian rebels have been blamed by Ukraine and the West for shooting down the plane. At the time of the incident, Ukrainian government forces were involved in heavy fighting with pro-Russian separatists. Wednesday’s findings will challenge Moscow’s suggestion that the plane was brought by the Ukrainian military. In the past, Russia has denied any involvement, including allegations that the Buk missile launcher had come from Russian territory. Repeating those details on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, “first-hand radar data identified all flying objects, which could have been launched or were in the air over the territory controlled by rebels at the moment,” adding that “the data are clear-cut…there is no rocket. If there was a rocket, it could only have been fired from elsewhere.” Investigators have noted that they did not have access to the new radar images on which Moscow was basing its latest statements. Separatist rebels have also denied their involvement. Eduard Basurin, military deputy operational commander at the rebel Donetsk People’s Republic, told Interfax news agency, “we never had such air defense systems, not the people who could operate them…Therefore we could not have shot down the Boeing (flight MH17).”

After the attack, the European Union (EU) and the United States extended sanctions on Russia that had been initially introduced after the Ukraine conflict began. Earlier this week, Russia produced radar images, which it argued depicted that the plane could not have come from rebel-held areas. Critics however have pointed out that Russian officials have given three versions of events since the plane was shot down over two years ago.

All 298 people on board the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 died when the plane broke apart in mid-air while it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Most of those on board were Dutch citizens.

US Embassy Warning for the Kyrgyz Republic (October 2016)

The U.S. Embassy has received information indicating the possibility of terrorist attacks, which may potentially involve kidnapping and hostage taking, targeted against local authorities and foreign diplomats during the month of October in the Kyrgyz Republic.

US Kills Number of IS ‘Leaders’ In Iraq

A United States military spokesman reported on 29 September that in the last thirty days, air strikes by the United States and it s allies have killed eighteen Islamic State (IS) “leaders,” adding that thirteen of them were killed in Mosul, the militant group’s de facto Iraqi capital.

Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for US forces in Iraq and Syria, told a Pentagon briefing that many of those targeted where military commanders, propagandists and those facilitating foreign recruits into territory controlled by Islamic state, which has sympathizers worldwide. Dorrian further disclosed that “by taking these individuals off the battlefield, it creates some really disruptive effects to enemy command and control. He added that there are now between 3,000 and 4,500 IS fighters left in Mosul, noting that while new fighters are not able to enter the city in large convoys, they continue to move in small formations.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that the US would deploy around 600 new troops to Iraq in order to assist Iraqi forces in the battle to retake Mosul from IS militants, who control parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.  The US currently has 4,565 troops in Iraq as part of a US-led coalition that is providing extensive air support, training and advise to the Iraqi military, which collapsed in 2014 in the face of Islamic State’s territorial gains and lightning advance towards the capital, Baghdad.

US Elections 2016: First Presidential Debate

On 26 September, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald held their first of three debates with each accusing the other and a snap poll indicating that the debate gave Mrs Clinton a boost in her chances to win the White House on 8 November

Mrs Clinton was under pressure to perform well in the wake of her bout with pneumonia and a recent drop in opinion polls. However he days of preparation appeared to have paid off in her highly anticipated first 90-minute standoff with Mr Trump, with a CNN/ORC snap poll stating that 62 percent of respondents felt that Mrs Clinton won the debate while 27 percent believed that Mr Trump was the winner.

While initially, Mr trump was strong early on, as the night wore on he appeared to become repetitive and more undisciplined. During the debate, Mrs Clinton accused Mr Trump of racism, sexism and tax avoidance, effectively putting him on the defensive. She sought to raise questions about her opponent’s temperament, business acumen and knowledge. Mr Trump, who is making his first run for public office, used much of his time to argue that the former first lady, US senator and secretary of state had achieved little in public life and that she wants to pursue policies, which have been started by President Barack Obama but which have failed to repair a shattered middle class. He suggested that her disavowal of a trade agreement with Asian countries was insincere and argued that her handling of a nuclear deal with Iran and the so-called Islamic State were disasters. In one of the more heated exchanges during the evening, Mrs Clinton accused Mr Trump of promulgating a “racist lie” by suggesting that President Obama was not born in the United States. The president, who was born in Hawaii, released a long-form birth certificate in 2011 in a bid to put the issue to rest. Only earlier this month did Mr Trump state publically that he believed the president was US-born. In a bid to get a reaction out of Mr Trump, Mrs Clinton suggested that he was refusing to release his tax returns to avoid showing Americans that he either paid next to nothing in federal taxes or that he is not as wealthy as he says he is. Mr Trump replied by saying that as a businessman, paying low taxes was important, adding, “that makes me smart.” He later stated, “I have tremendous income,” adding that it was about time that someone running the country knew something about money. Where Mrs Clinton seemed to pique Mr Trump’s ire was when she brought up his past insults about women, stating, “he loves beauty contests, supporting them and hanging around them and he called this one ‘Miss Piggy’ and then he called her ‘Miss Housekeeping.’” During the debate, Mr Trump hinted at wanting to say something but stopped short. Afterwards, he told reporters tat he had though off raising the sex scandal involving Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, who was in the audience with their daughter Chelsea. He stated, “I was going to say something extremely tough to Hillary and her family and I said I can’t do it. I just can do it. Is inappropriate, its not nice.”

Suspect in New York City and New Jersey Bombings Arrested

The New York City metropolitan area has long been on high alert for potential terrorist threats. These concerns have further increased over the past several days after terrorist attacks in Manhattan and New Jersey. The situation began on September 17 when an explosion occurred around 9:30am in Seaside Park, New Jersey. The bomb was planted near the route for the Seaside Semper Five run event, an event intended to help U.S. military veterans. The explosion did not cause any injury due to the race start being postponed after a suspicious package was noticed. An extensive search by police discovered two other pipe bomb-like explosives near the race route. Both devices failed to explode, however the race was cancelled due to security concerns. At around 8pm on September 18, 2 homeless men found a suspicious package in a garbage container near Elizabeth train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The men contacted local police, who called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and New Jersey State Police. Police robots opened the package and discovered 2 pipe bombs, 1 of which exploded destroying the closest robot. The second pipe bomb did not explode and the police disabled it later that evening.

The New York City bombing occurred on the evening of September 17 in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood at around 8:30pm. In that attack, 29 people were injured, with 24 of those requiring hospitalization. Several hours later and only 4 blocks away, a second device was discovered by New York State Police. A New York Police Department robot later moved the device to an NYPD facility where it was detonated in a controlled explosion. No one was injured by the second device in Manhattan.

 On the evening of September 17, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the Manhattan explosion was intentional. Later reports made it clear that the explosion was being classified as a terrorist attack. Law enforcement investigators later found CCTV footage that showed a bearded man planting both improvised explosive devices in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood. On September 19, the FBI announced that the man in the footage had been identified as a 28 year-old naturalized U.S. citizen (originally born in Afghanistan) named Ahmad Khan Rahami. The FBI revealed that Rahami was linked with all the devices found in New York City and New Jersey. He had reportedly worked and lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Shortly after the announcement, New York City’s Mayor issued a mass emergency alert to cellphone users in New York City and surrounding areas. Rahami was captured in Linden, New Jersey have a multi-agency police operation. During the exchange of gunfire, Rahami was shot in the shoulder and one police offer received a hand injury. Rahami’s exact motivations have not been publically released, but he is now considered the only suspect in the bombings. Rahami was hospitalized and has since been charged with attempted murder and possession of an illegal firearm.

Reflecting the heightened worries about terrorism, New York City has increased its security precautions. 1000 National Guardsmen and New York State Police troopers would be deployed in public areas throughout the city to encourage public confidence. The mass text message alert issued by NYC’s mayor also stands as one of the largest public safety alerts issued through the United States emergency wireless broadcasting system. A great deal of information remains to be publicly released, including whether other people had knowledge of the plot. This includes conflicting reports regarding 5 people arrested by the NYPD on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn on September 18. None of those individuals have yet be formally charged.