Homeland Security News
French cement maker Lafarge to face trial on terrorism funding charges
Cement maker Holcim’s Lafarge will face trial in a French court on charges that its Syrian subsidiary financed terrorism and breached European sanctions in order to keep a plant operating, France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor and a lead plaintiff said. Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015, has been the subject of an investigation into…
Read MoreJudge rejects bid to dismiss terrorism charge against Las Vegas teen
A judge on Wednesday rejected the attempt by an attorney for a teen facing terrorism and incendiary device charges to have one of his client’s charges dismissed based in part on an argument that the First Amendment protects prayers for terrorism. Prosecutors have said Joshua Robles, 17, had ISIS execution videos on his phone, plotted…
Read MoreDes Moines man arrested after explosion damages vehicle in ‘targeted attack’
A Des Moines man has been arrested after allegedly using an improvised explosive device to damage a vehicle on the city’s south side. Des Moines Police Department patrol officers were called to a reported vehicle fire in the 1200 block of Hartford Avenue just before 6 a.m. Tuesday. Investigators found evidence of explosive damage to…
Read MoreSpain arrests 4 accused of shipping possible precursors for chemical weapons to Russia, breaching sanctions
Spanish authorities on Tuesday said they had arrested four people suspected of orchestrating a sanctions-busting commercial network after intercepting more than 14 tons of chemical products bound for Russia. “During the investigation, it was proven that internationally sanctioned chemicals, some of them possible precursors for chemical weapons or nerve agents, had been exported in the…
Read MoreHoax bomb threats spark panic for Indian airlines
At least 10 Indian flights have received hoax bomb threats over the past 48 hours, leading to long delays and diversions. On Tuesday, Singapore’s Air Force sent two fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane away from populated areas following a bomb threat. Hours before that, an Air India plane from Delhi to…
Read MoreMan jailed for terrorism offences after joint HMRC and Met Police investigation
An east London man who sent night vision and thermal imaging rifle scopes to support terrorist activity by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2017 and 2018 has been jailed. Muhammad Choudhary, 41 (15.06.83) previously pleaded guilty to terrorism funding and fundraising offences following a joint investigation by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the…
Read MoreUnited States and Canada Target Key International Fundraiser for Foreign Terrorist Organization PFLP
Today, in a joint action with Canada, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, or “Samidoun,” a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization. The PFLP, which was designated as…
Read MoreIsraeli strike hits municipal building in south Lebanon, mayor and five others killed
An Israeli air strike on Wednesday on the municipal building in Nabatieh, a major town in southern Lebanon, which serves as a provincial capital, killed the mayor Ahmed Kahil and at least five others, two security sources said. The strike came despite U.S. concerns about rising death tolls and fears of all-out war in the…
Read MoreUkraine attacked by over 130 Russian drones in latest strike, Kyiv says
Russia launched one of its largest drone salvos at Ukraine in recent months, targeting Kyiv and other cities and igniting a fire at an industrial facility in the western region of Ternopil, officials said on Wednesday. Air defences shot down 51 of 136 drones used in the attack, the air force said in its readout.…
Read MoreTrial on hold for New Jersey man charged in knife attack that injured Salman Rushdie
The attempted murder trial of the man charged with severely injuring author Salman Rushdie in a 2022 knife attack was put on hold Friday while judges consider a request to move it to another county. Jury selection had been scheduled to start on Tuesday. Late Friday, an appellate judge in Rochester halted proceedings until the…
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