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Post by Admin on Jun 13, 2016 18:53:48 GMT
U.S. investigators are operating under a theory that the Orlando nightclub mass shooting was inspired by Islamic State, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday. The similarities between the November attack on the Bataclan nightclub in Paris and that the shooter who appeared to target a gay dance club during the Muslim month of Ramadan "indicates an ISIS-inspired act of terrorism," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, said in a statement. Intelligence officers are combing through terrorism databases to see if there are any known links between alleged shooter and a terrorist group, Schiff said. Multiple outlets, including CNN, reported Mateen made a 911 call before the attack, pledging allegiance to ISIS. There haven't been signs so far that Islamic State leaders helped orchestrate the plot, he said. "Whether this attack was ISIS-directed remains to be determined," he said.
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Post by Admin on Aug 21, 2016 18:41:46 GMT
Twitter has finally bowed to pressure and removed the account of hate preacher Anjem Choudary – a year after he was charged for inviting support for ISIS. The social media site had previously ignored repeated requests from UK authorities to take down his offensive material, jurors at the Old Bailey heard during his trial. By contrast, it has taken Twitter a matter of minutes to tackle potential copyright infringement of Olympics coverage – sparking criticism from its own users. Choudary faces up to 10 years in jail after he was convicted of inciting support for the terror group.
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Post by Admin on Sept 19, 2016 18:44:57 GMT
A bomb attack in New York City was a terrorist act, officials say, but no links have been found to global groups and the motivation remains unclear. "Was it a political motivation? A personal motivation? We do not know," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. Saturday night's blast in Manhattan injured 29 people. They have all now been released from hospital. NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said: "Whoever placed these bombs - we will find them and they will be brought to justice." A second device - reportedly a pressure cooker attached to wiring and a mobile phone - had been found four blocks from the site of the explosion in the Chelsea district and was removed safely.
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Post by Admin on Sept 20, 2016 18:27:39 GMT
Law enforcement agencies have apprehended New Jersey resident Ahmad Khan Rahami, after a brief but intense manhunt by agencies seeking to question him about multiple bombs in New York and New Jersey since Saturday. No one was killed in the blasts, but 29 people were injured. Rahami, 28, was captured after a gunbattle with police in Linden, N.J.; images shown on local TV shortly before noon Monday showed Rahami on a stretcher with what looks to be a wound on his upper arm or shoulder, with his hands behind his back. Authorities believe Rahami is the sole suspect in Saturday night's explosion on West 23rd Street in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood an an explosion earlier that day at Seaside Park, N.J. Investigators searched several homes in New Jersey early Monday. Two law enforcement officials told NPR's Dina Temple-Raston that a cellphone attached to an explosive device that did not detonate initially led them to the suspect's father, which then led them to Rahami.
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Post by Admin on Oct 18, 2016 18:32:29 GMT
Backed by U.S. air support, Iraqi army troops and allied Kurdish fighters are advancing on the city from two fronts, the south and northeast, as NPR's Alice Fordham tells Morning Edition. They say they're making progress but face resistance from ISIS militants who have been in control of the area for more than two years. The battle could be a watershed moment in the fight against the Islamic State. Mosul — one of Iraq's largest cities — is the last major urban center in the country under ISIS control, as Alice reports: "It's tremendously important, both strategically and symbolically, to take back Mosul from ISIS." It's expected to be a difficult fight for Iraq's security forces, which suffered a rapid and humiliating defeat there two years ago. Mosul is much larger than other recently liberated cities such as Ramadi and Fallujah.
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