Horror and terror in Paris

Editor

Friday the thirteenth saw the largest act of terrorism to have been perpetuated in Western Europe in the last decade. 129 people were killed and 352 injured (with 99 in critical condition) in a series of shootings and suicide bombings conducted by Islamic terrorists (ISIS has taken credit for these terror attacks). This is the second major terrorist incident in Paris this year (first was the Charlie Hebdo killings). The attack is also eerily similar to the 2008 attacks carried out by the Pakistan based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba in Mumbai. In both cases we see a string of sustained terrorist attacks carried out by a group of trained terrorists in the manner similar to small special operations teams.

We have not seen a lot of good analysis in the media on the similarities between the attacks in Paris and those previously experienced in Mumbai. This attack may have been conducted by Islamic terrorists from ISIS/ISIL but if there is a parallel to Mumbai, it will be some time (if ever) before the organizational structure behind the well planned heinous attack comes to light.

Is there someone who played the role of David Headley in these Paris terror attacks?

Tragic terrorist attacks by Islamic terrorists in Paris kill over one hundred and injure hundreds more

Tragic terrorist attacks by Islamic terrorists in Paris kill over one hundred and injure hundreds more

Click here for ongoing live web coverage of the attacks and subsequent events by the BBC. The Mirror also has some good eyewitness accounts of the carnage.

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Who is a terrorist?

Editor

The age old question of “Who is a terrorist?” (versus a freedom fighter, rebel, dissident, opposition, etc.) is not getting any easier to answer in today’s chaotic world. We have seen the campaign against ISIS/ISIL in Syria take a dramatic turn this month with Russia jumping onto the “War on Terrorism” train and directly getting militarily involved in Syria. This has left the American-Saudi-Qatari-Turkish faction in a bit of a sticky situation. One one hand you have the United States denouncing Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria, Turkey invoking NATO defense clauses and Islamic clerics in Saudi Arabia promoting ‘jihad’ against Russia and Iran. All the while, the Russians seem to be methodically going about the business of taking down the ISIS terrorist positions in Syria – and as for what type of terrorists?

 

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Private sector can profit from terrorism too

Editor

Of course the private sector has benefited immensely from the fight against terrorism! This did not start with the 9/11 attacks in New York but that heinous act did put a huge amount of money into the (global) fight against terrorism. Metal detectors, new weapons, bullets and transport, new security infrastructure construction, radiation detectors, emergency preparedness gear, hiring of thousands of new security related personnel and bureaucrats, cyber security software and services, body scanners and on and on. We point out this small anecdote from the United Kingdom as an example of how underplayed the role of and benefits to the private sector have been, from this unending war on terrorism.

Terrorism is good business for the public and private sectors

Terrorism has been good business for the public and private sectors

The private sector is moving into the fight against terrorism as British police and the military are to be offered the chance to hone their skills at a state-of-the-art weapons and tactics centre in a former underground reservoir.

The £20m independent National Firearms and Tactical Training Centre (NFTTC) to be built in Bedford will feature specialist weapons ranges and live-fire houses that can be decked out to create realistic hostage, siege and terrorism scenarios. (The Guardian)

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Four Marines massacred in Chattanooga

Editor

A 24-year-old Kuwaiti-born gunman opened fire on a military recruiting station and then proceeded to the US Naval Reserve Center where he shot and killed four Marines. The killer was identified as  Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez who was a naturalized US citizen, born in Kuwait to Muslim Jordanian parents. It is not known whether he was radicalized by ISIS/ISIL ideology or the true nature of his motives. Some investigation of his social media postings does point to a religious bent though he was not being tracked by law enforcement under any Islamic terrorism investigation. Abdulazees was killed but we still don’t have details of his death though it was likely a result of exchange of gunfire with Chattanooga police, one of whose officers was reportedly shot but is recovering. Was this Islamic terrorism or just domestic terrorism? That will likely be debated for a while. For now, the incident is also being used to test the waters for whether US military personnel should be armed while on in the United States.

Four Marines gunned down in possible Islamic terrorism attack in Tennessee

Four Marines gunned down in possible Islamic terrorism attack in Tennessee

SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks terrorist activities, said that Mr. Abdulazeez had this week posted at least two Islam-focused writings on a blog, including one in which he described life as “short and bitter.” He also said that Muslims should not miss “the opportunity to submit to Allah.”

The separate rampages, at an armed services recruiting center and a naval reserve facility, were together the highest profile episode of violence at domestic military installations since April 2014, when three people were killed and more than a dozen were wounded at Fort Hood, Tex. And the killings here came in yet another mass shooting, less than one month after nine people were killed inside a church in Charleston, S.C. (New York Times)

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Over 40 killed in Islamic terrorism trifecta

Editor

Terrorists have killed over 40 people today in attacks conducted in France, Tunisia and Kuwait. It is still not clear whether all three attacks from today were related/co-ordinated and if they were all conducted by ISIS, their sympathizers or some other Islamic terrorist groups. But ISIS did play a role and the aftermath of these attacks is being felt around the world.

In France, two men drove a car into the premises of a factory near Lyon and triggered multiple explosions and injured two people. A decapitated head covered in Arabic writing was also pinned to the factory’s gate. One of the Muslim (Salafist) terrorists has reportedly been arrested as French authorities are on the hunt for accomplices.

The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Shia mosque in Kuwait City which has already claimed 13 victims with another 25 wounded. A suicide bomber (claimed by an ISIS related group to be Abu Suleiman al-Muwahhid) entered the Al-Imam al-Sadeq mosque and created the devastation during Friday prayers.

The third mass terrorist attack of the day came at a sea side tourist resort in Tunisia. Two Islamic terrorists attacked the mostly German and British tourists at two hotels in Sousse and killed 27 as panic struck the resort’s beach and hotels. One of the gunmen is reported to have been killed while the other was still being sought by Tunisian security services.

ISIS has publicly called for its followers to turn Ramadan and into a time of “calamity for the infidels” (Muslims around the world have just recently started celebrating their holy month of Ramadan). While world leaders will give lip service to the horrors from today, many of the countries, their rulers, religious leaders and power brokers that are deeply involved in sustaining this radical Salafist ideology will likely continue to have their complicity swept under the rug.

Deadly terrorist attacks in France, Kuwait and Tunisia

Deadly terrorist attacks in France, Kuwait and Tunisia

The attacks come just days after the Reuters news agency reported that Islamic State leaders had urged its followers  to escalate attacks against Christians, Shi’ites and Sunni Muslims fighting for the U.S.-led coalition against them. (Irish Examiner)

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