France and Belgium Face Fresh ISIS Attacks: Report

Belgium, France Face Fresh ISIS Attacks: Report

France and Belgium are facing a fresh wave of “imminent” terrorist attacks by the Daesh Takfiri terrorists returning from the conflict zones in the Middle East, Belgian security and intelligence sources say.

The note from Belgium's anti-terror unit to police, which was published by Derniere Heure newspaper, warned on Wednesday, "Fighters travelling without passports left Syria about a week and a half ago in order to reach Europe by boat via Turkey and Greece."

French police officers observe a minute of silence during a ceremony in memory of a French police officer and his wife, killed on June 13 by a man claiming allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorists, at the Eveche police station in Marseille on June 16, 2016. (AFP photo)

"These people are thought to have split into two groups - one for Belgium, the other for France in order to commit terror attacks in groups of two," the memo sent to police and security services across Belgium said, adding, "According to information collected, these people are thought to already be in possession of the necessary weaponry and their attack is imminent."

Belgium is still reeling from bombings claimed by Daesh at Brussels airport and on the city's metro on March 22, where 32 people were killed and hundreds more injured.

On November 13, 2015, terrorists carried out shooting attacks and bombings in Paris, France, killing 130 people.

France, which is currently hosting the Euro 2016 football event, is on maximum alert.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has warned that there will be more terrorist attacks following this week's murder of a policeman and his wife by a man who pledged allegiance to Daesh.

The attacker on June 13 also took the couple's three-year-old son hostage in the attack. The boy was found unharmed but in a state of shock after police commandos stormed the house and killed the attacker.

French fire brigade members aid an injured individual near the Bataclan concert hall following fatal shootings in Paris, France, November 13, 2015. ©Reuters

The killings came hours after a gunman claiming allegiance to Daesh fatally shot 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, during the early hours of June 12. The Orlando shooter, identified as Omar Mateen, had reportedly traveled to Saudi Arabia twice, in March 2011 and March 2012.

The Western and European governments were repeatedly warned of a Takfiri backlash when they began supporting militants in their bid to topple the Syrian government.

Those threats have come to pass as attackers linked to Daesh and other Takfiri groups have targeted several countries across Europe.

Belgian servicemen stand guard as people gather at the makeshift memorial on the Place de la Bourse Square, in Brussels, on March 27, 2016, to pay tribute to the victims of the Brussels terror attacks. ©AFP

In early April, the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, based in The Hague, said in a report that Belgium, Britain, France and Germany contributed to the militancy in Iraq and Syria by having 2,838 of their nationals traveling to those countries to join terror groups.

That is more than half of a total of 4,294 foreign fighters who have left the EU member states for those two Arab countries over the past few years.

Western officials estimate that several hundred of the disillusioned extremists have so far returned to their European home countries.

Estimates suggest that some 30,000 foreign fighters from about 104 countries were fighting in Iraq and Syria between September 2014 and September 2015, Press TV reported.

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog