Terrorists set their sights on Europe – raids conducted in Belgium

#CharlieHebdo #antiterrorraids #Belgium Following the terror attacks in Paris in the offices of Charlie Hebdo, Europe has gone on high alert and have conducted anti-terror raids and arrests of suspected Islamist militants. Reports indicate arrests of more than 20 people in Belgium, France and Germany. As a result, Belgium has now joined France in deploying troops alongside police and security has been tightened in several countries. Last week’s attack in Paris had left 17 people dead.
Obviously, the concerns if security authorities have increased many fold since many young Europeans who had gone to join the jihadists in Syria, are returning back home. They had gone to fight with Middle East militants and would have acquired various types of experience and knowledge connected to terror activities.
It seems in Belgium, five people were charged with "participating in the activities of a terrorist group" – raids had been conducted and two suspects have died. Moreover, guns, munitions and explosives, apart from police uniforms and a large amount of money have been seized by the police during the operation.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the people had the intention to kill several policemen in the street and at police stations. A total of thirteen people were arrested but only five would be prosecuted. Belgium would seek the extradition of two suspects held in France.
Various measures announced by the Belgian government to counter the terrorist threats include making travelling abroad for terrorist activities a crime.
In Paris, twelve suspects are being held by police in connection to the attacks in which 17 persons died. The arrested persons are being interrogated about their possible logistical support they might have given to the three gunmen – support like weapons or vehicles.

EU sounds the alarm bell – 5000 terrorists could return home

#CharlieHebdo #Europol #RobWainwright Young Muslims from European countries had gone to Syria to fight alongside terrorists there and, while many of them would never return because they are dead, nearly 5000 of them are expected to return home and put to practice what they have learnt.
These individuals would return with experience of terrorist activities and would be potential threats wherever they go. That is the warning issued by the director of Europol. These nationals belonging to European Union have traveled overseas and could pose a threat to their home countries if they returned.
The European Union law enforcement agency has already collected the names of 2,500 suspects from agencies across the EU. It may be recalled that one of the two brothers who carried out the massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, had travelled to Yemen for terrorist training. He had also recruited others to fight in Iraq and the brothers claimed allegiance to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
As Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol has indicated - it was a group of mostly young men who have the potential to carry out attacks like those carried out in Paris. In fact, Europe is now faced its biggest threat since New York's Twin Towers were destroyed and internet companies could help out and tackle extremist activity online. The social media has now become not just a recruitment tool but also a propaganda tool.

Islamic State uses heat seeking missile to shoot down coalition plane near Raqqa

#islamicstate #heatseekingmissile #SOHR It has been reported that Islamic State (IS) militants have shot down a US-led coalition warplane near Raqqa over northern Syria. This has been informed by the activists of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The aircraft is believed to be from an Arab state and had gone down near Raqqa after being hit by a heat seeking missile. While the UK-based SOHR group indicated that the fate of the pilot was unknown, the IS supporters have published photos which they have said showed a Jordanian airman surrounded by gunmen. Confirmation of this would mean that this would be the first coalition warplane to have been shot down since air strikes on IS began in September.
The authorities in Jordan, one of four Arab countries whose aircraft have been flying sorties over Syria, has so far not commented on the incident but reports indicate that the pilot was a Jordanian of the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF). His identity has been revealed and his father has confirmed about the crash.
Hundreds of air strikes have been carried out on IS in Syria in the past three months by the air forces of Jordan, the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain and a number of targets have been in and around Raqqa. This city is the de facto capital of the "caliphate" whose creation IS had proclaimed in June.