Today’s Islamic terror attacks were held in France and the United States.
In France, a gunman named Redouane Lakdim killed three people and took hostages in a supermarket while shouting “Allahu Akhbar” before he was shot dead by police. A dozen other people were wounded.
At Travis Air Force Base in California, a man named Hafiz Kazi, originally from India, locked himself in a car full of gasoline and propane tanks, set the gas on fire, and crashed through an entrance to the base. By the time rescuers pulled his corpse from the burned-out car, he was identifiable only through his fingerprints.
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Thanks to Charles Low, Dean, Insubria, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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Brown County Sheriff’s Office Investigates Car Explosion
A Nashville, Indiana, motel manager was watching a Hallmark movie when the walls around her starting shaking as a car in the parking lot exploded.
“It felt like an earthquake,” she said. “Everything was rattling and shaking, and it was just the loudest boom.”
A man was inside of a silver PT Cruiser when it exploded last Friday in the parking lot of the Green Valley Motor Lodge. He survived and managed to drive about a mile on State Road 46 in the damaged car before police stopped him.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the explosion. Public Information Officer Josh Stargell said in a press release the explosion does not seem to be accidental and is not related to drugs.
A propane tank inside the car exploded, according to investigators. The driver told police the explosion happened as he lit a cigarette while sitting in the car.
The driver’s name has not been released due to the criminal investigation…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
FBI Identifies Man Killed in Fiery Crash at Travis Air Force Base
(KCRA) — Officials have identified the man who drove through the main gate of Travis Air Force Base and died in a fiery crash.
Hafiz Kazi, 51, was found dead Wednesday night inside of the vehicle after it crashed on the base, the FBI said Friday.
The crash happened around 7 p.m. The FBI said officials at the main gate saw a vehicle coming toward the gate and flames inside. The vehicle then went through the gate and crashed.
Witnesses said they heard an explosion as the vehicle went through the security checkpoint at the base.
Medics responded to the crash scene and worked to rescue Kazi. By the time they were able to get through the locked doors, Kazi was already dead.
The FBI said gate officials did not shoot at the vehicle because they initially thought there was some sort of accident.
During the investigation, officials found five propane tanks, a gym bag with personal items, three phones, three plastic gas cans and several lighters inside of the vehicle.
Kazi was identified through his fingerprints due to the condition of his body after the fire, the FBI said.
The motive behind the crash is unknown. The FBI said there is no evidence at this time that led to terrorism as a motive.
Kazi, who is originally from India, has been in the U.S. since 1993. He was a permanent legal resident of the U.S., the FBI said. He primarily lived in the Bay Area in the past.
The FBI said there is no active threat to the air force base, the Fairfield area or Solano County in connection with the incident.
The investigation is ongoing.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Gatestone Institute is so proud that its chairman, Ambassador John R. Bolton, will be leading the United States’ National Security Council. We warmly congratulate both him and President Donald J. Trump on an appointment that is great for America, great for its allies and great for the free world.
| — Hat tip: Charles Low | [Return to headlines] |
NC Man Planned Attacks in US, Supported ISIS, Recruited for ‘Sleeper Cell’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A jury on Tuesday convicted a North Carolina man of conspiring to support ISIS — the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.
Prosecutors said Erick Jamal Hendricks, 37, of Charlotte, was actively recruiting members of a sleeper cell with plans to carry out attacks in the U.S.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Prosecutor: Man Involved in Car Explosion Has Died
The man who was inside a PT Cruiser when it exploded in the parking lot of the Green Valley Motor Lodge last Friday has died, according to the Brown County prosecutor’s office.
The prosecutor’s office had been considering criminal charges against the man, age 48, from Indianapolis.
Since he was not charged, was not booked into jail and has since died, the Brown County Democrat is choosing to not use his name.
The man had left a suicide note in his room at the Green Valley Motor Lodge the evening of the blast, and directions to a longer, more extensive note on his laptop computer, Prosecutor Ted Adams said in a press release issued this morning.
The man died in Indianapolis on March 21, Adams said. The Marion County coroner’s office confirmed his cause of death as suicide.
The explosion happened at about 10 p.m. Friday, March 16 at a motel on State Road 46 West, about a mile from downtown Nashville.
The man was sitting in the silver PT Cruiser and was lighting a cigarette when a propane tank in the back of the car exploded, Adams said.
The explosion appeared to be intentional, he said.
With the roof of the car distended, all the windows gone and the doors twisted, the man drove the car out of the Green Valley Motor Lodge parking lot and headed west on State Road 46. Officers stopped him about a mile up the road at the west entrance to Brown County State Park.
Officers found the man uninjured.
They began an investigation into drunken driving, Adams said.
Later that evening, the man was transported to the Columbus Regional Hospital Stress Center.
The blast also damaged a pickup truck in the Green Valley Motor Lodge parking lot and broke two windows of the motel. No one at the motel was injured.
In the 1990s, the man had been charged with 19 felony counts of child molesting, according to online court records. He was convicted of six of those counts. He was released to probation in 2009, the court record said.
With the man’s death, “this matter will be considered closed by law enforcement and the Brown County Prosecutor’s Office,” Adams said in the press release.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
An Austrian embassy attaché was recalled from his role in Tel Aviv after photos emerged of him wearing a clothing brand co-owned by Identitarian leader Martin Sellner who was recently detained and refused entry into the UK.
Attaché Jürgen-Michael Kleppich was photographed wearing a t-shirt from the clothing brand Phalanx Europa, which sells clothing, stickers, posters, and other merchandise with a focus on anti-mass migration and anti-Islamisation messages.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Europe on Its Knees: EU Leaders Bow Down to Juncker Brussels Summit
Jean-Claude Juncker was the subject of adulation from European leaders as they came together for a European Council summit in Brussels.
The European Commission President literally had prime ministers kneeling at his feet as he spoke to them at the roundtable meeting between the EU’s leaders.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Flashback: Three Years of Deadly Terror Attacks Across Europe
PARIS (AFP) — Jihadists claiming allegiance to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group have struck in several European countries, with France — where there was a new attack Friday — the hardest hit.
Here is a recap of major attacks in Europe over the past three years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French firefighters in the Alpes-Maritimes department have launched a new video campaign in an effort to stop people attacking them while they are trying to do their job.
The campaign, entitled “Do Not Touch My Firefighter”, was created by the Alpes-Maritimes firefighters union and features several realistic clips showing random acts of violence directed at emergency services workers, broadcaster France Bleu reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An armed man reportedly yelling “Allahu Akbar” went on a rampage Friday in southern France, killing three people and taking hostages in an hours-long standoff inside a supermarket.
Police said the man, identified as Redouane Lakdim, 26, carjacked a vehicle, shot at police and barricaded himself inside a Super U supermarket in Trebes before officers stormed in, fatally shooting him.
Officials said among the 16 people injured in the rampage was a French police officer who offered himself up in a hostage swap and gave police crucial details about what was going on inside.
The French Prime Minister said the incident “seems to be a terrorist act.”…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Maroni 2 1/2 Yr Jail Term Asked
For allegedly trying to get Tokyo trip, jobs for ex-assistants
(ANSA) — Milan, march 22 — A Milan prosecutor on Thursday requested a prison term of two and a half years for outgoing Lombardy Governor Roberto Maroni for alleged pressure to obtain a trip to Tokyo and a job for two of his former assistants when he was interior minister. “My conscience is clear, the charges are ridiculous,” said Maroni.
The prosecutor also asked for two years and two months for the governor’s political secretary Giacomo Ciriello in the case of Maria Grazia Paturzo and Mara Carluccio, the two former interior ministry assistants.
The prosecutor, Eugenio Fusco, also asked for regional government secretary-general Andrea Gibelli to be sentenced to one year in jail and an 800 euro fine.
For Carluccio, the sentence request was 10 months plus an 800 euro fine.
The two women have stayed put in Rome throughout the affair, the prosecutor said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Priest Probed for Ringing Bells Too Loud
Near Udine
(ANSA) — Udine, March 23 — A parish priest in northern Italy has been placed under investigation for ringing his bells too loud and too often.
Emmanuel Runditse, 60, of Majano near Udine, was placed under investigation after complaints from residents, the Messaggero Veneto newspaper said Friday.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Di Maio-Salvini ‘Kiss’ Mural Removed
Also Meloni-African baby, Totti-St Francis works
(ANSA) — Rome, March 23 — A central Rome street mural showing anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio kissing anti-migrant Euroskeptic League leader Matteo Salvini was removed Friday.
“I have other preferences,” Salvini said about the street art.
Two other murals were also removed.
One showed rightist nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader Giorgia Meloni holding an African baby and the other showed AS Roma soccer legend Francesco Totti dressed like St Francis of Assisi. The murals appeared overnight ahead of the first session of the parliament which features Di Maio and Salvini as the big winners of the inconclusive March 4 general election, and no majority in sight.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
New Swedish Patriotic Party Already Supported by Almost 2% of Voters
The newly launched Alternative for Sweden (AfS) party is already supported by almost 2% of Swedes, a YouGov poll shows. AfS was founded only a few weeks ago by former Sweden Democrats member Gustav Kasselstrand.
Alternative for Sweden is not yet listed as a separate category, but according to YouGov manager Lars Gylling, they are close to two per cent of support.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Scotland Create ‘Hate Crime Files’ On Over 900 Young Teens in One Year
Tackling online hate crime in Scotland will be a “priority”, the nation’s police have announced, revealing that almost 1,000 files on children aged between 11 and 15 were created last year.
A total of 5,889 “hate crime files” were drawn up in 2016/17, Police Scotland said, announcing the launch of a social media campaign on the issue which will also see officers work with schools to promote the slogan “be greater than a hater”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Populist Wilders Hails ‘Success’ In Dutch Local Elections
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The right-wing populist party of anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders has gained footholds for the first time in dozens of municipalities across the Netherlands, but has struggled in some key cities, according to results broadcast Thursday.
Local elections held Wednesday in 335 Dutch municipalities are a barometer of support for national parties but are complicated by the popularity of small parties focused on local issues.
Near-complete results shown by national broadcaster NOS on Thursday had local parties winning nearly 33 percent of the vote.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Violent Protests Break Out in Barcelona — Riot Police on Scene
RIOTS broke out in Barcelona this evening after a High Court announced the temporary imprisonment of six pro-independence ministers. They have been accused of rebellion, sedition and misappropriation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trebes Siege: Three People Dead in French Supermarket ‘Terror Attack’, Police Say
Three people have been killed and around a dozen others injured in a suspected terror attack in Trebes in the south of France after a gunman claiming allegiance to Isis took hostages in a supermarket.
The attacker, 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, who was known to authorities for petty crimes, struck at the Super U shop in Trèbes, near Toulouse, on Friday morning, killing one person by shooting them in the head before taking others hostage.
Earlier, a policeman was shot and wounded while jogging with colleagues in Carcassonne, a 15-minute drive away, by the same suspect, the secretary-general of the SGP Police-FO union told the Associated Press.
Special police units were sent to the scene and local authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away. Officers later stormed the supermarket and killed the attacker.
A supermarket customer who was in the shop at the time told France Info: “A man cried and fired a lot of gunshots. I saw a fridge door, I told people to come find shelter.
“There were 10 of us and we stayed there for one hour. There were more gunshots and we left by the back exit. He shouted Allah something, I didn’t see him.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Sickening Attack’: City Gang Kicks and Stomps on Unconscious Man More Than 100 Times (Video)
Horrifying footage of a brutal attack on a man lying on a UK tram platform has emerged. A police hunt for the victim’s attackers is underway.
CCTV footage shows the teenagers stamping on the man more than 100 times before leaving him for dead. The 49-year-old man was brutally assaulted at the Metrolink station in Chadderton, Greater Manchester.
His ordeal continued even after he was knocked unconscious by the boys, described as Asian males aged between 15 and 18. A tram arrived during the attack, and the gang still did not stop. Instead detectives said the gang “played to the audience.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Another Female Genital Mutilation Case Fails, Zero Convictions in 33 Years
The latest attempt to secure the UK’s first prosecution for female genital mutilation (FGM) has failed, with a West African father cleared of using the practice to “punish” his young daughter.
The prosecution was only the second brought under FGM legislation since it was introduced 33 years ago, in 1985. Not a single person has been found guilty of the crime in Britain, despite thousands of cases logged annually, and hundreds of successful prosecutions in France.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
[…]while staff at her care home responded by putting her on the Pill
- EXCLUSIVE: Zoe Patterson was trafficked from Midlands care home as a teen
- Another girl, 15, took her to parties where she was raped by older men
- Zoe has since settled out of court with care home where staff turned a blind eye
- Book about how she survived her horrifying experiences is published today
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Vatican Cracks Down on Critics of Pope Francis
The Vatican has taken new measures to punish critics of Pope Francis in a move that seems to belie the pope’s earlier calls for greater dialogue and debate within the Church.
On Thursday, the Rome-based Sovereign Order of Malta, which reports directly to the Holy See, suspended historian Henry Sire after he was revealed to be the author of the bestselling book The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy, a critical examination of the pontificate of Pope Francis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: Belgrade Airport Concession to France’s Vinci
25 years, development projects and investments
(ANSA) — BELGRADE — The contract for a 25-year concession of Belgrade Nikola Tesla airport to France’s ‘Vinci Airports’ was signed in the Serbian capital. The ceremony was attended by prime minister Ana Brnabic, who was accompanied by some ministers. The document was signed by the vice premier and minister of transport and infrastructure Serbian Zorana Mihajlovic, president of ‘Vinci Airports’ Nicolas Notebaert, Massimo Bruzzo of ‘Vinci Airports Serbia’ and Sasha Vlaisavljevic, CEO of the Belgrade airport.
The contract, whose value is approximately 1.46 billion euros, covers loans, services, the maintenance, expansion and modernization of terminals and runaways. Nicolas Notebaert said that his company believes in the future of Serbia, and will work to foster new investments and create new jobs. The Belgrade airport, he added, has excellent prospects of development also thanks to the strong increase of tourism in Serbia. Premier Brnabic confirmed this increase, underlining that the figure of 5.3 million passengers recorded last year, with the help of Vinci Airports could soon be exceeded, with the goal of reaching 15 million passengers per year.
The agreement opened up new prospects for stronger collaboration between Serbia and France — said the premier, who announced that president Emmanuel Macron will visit Belgrade by the end of the year.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU Council Slams Turkey’s ‘Illegal Actions’ In Mediterranean
Concern over detained citizens. Alfano favors EU-Turkey dialogue
BRUSSELS — The European Council has strongly condemned what it calls Turkey’s “illegal actions” in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea, in a statement detailing conclusions following a Thursday evening summit.
The cited actions include Turkey’s blockade of a drilling ship, the Saipem 12000, rented by Italian energy giant ENI for gas drilling at an offshore field in the eastern Aegean.
After two weeks of being blocked off the southeastern coast of Cyprus by the Turkish Navy, ENI was forced to abandon its planned exploration, despite having a license for it from the Cypriot government in Nicosia.
Turkey claims that part of the gas field off Cyprus belongs to Northern Cyprus, the Turkish part of the island.
The Council also expressed “grave concern over the continued detention of EU citizens in Turkey, including two Greek soldiers” and said it “calls for the swift and positive resolution of these issues in a dialogue with Member States”.
The Council said it “recalls Turkey’s obligation to respect international law” and “to respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources”.
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said Italy has “great concerns” over “some of Turkey’s recent behaviors”.
“Our position has always been in favor of involvement between the European Union’s institutional heads and the Turkish authorities,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
How Facebook and Social Media Promote Terrorism
The nature of Islamic terrorism throughout the world has changed in recent years. Alongside the established and organized groups — such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and even ISIS — a new and different type terror has been created, one that is nourished ideologically, spiritually, and intellectually by these groups, yet shows no connection — organizationally or operationally — to them.
This terror is defined by what we refer to as “lone wolves.” These are individuals whose nationalistic motives, religious incitement or psychological needs propel them to commit acts of terror without being a member of an organized group or cell. The one unifying aspect for all these lone wolves is social media.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Priest: ‘Every Five Minutes, A Christian Dies in the Middle East’
A spokesman for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has denounced the “genocide” facing Christians in the Holy Land, declaring: “Every five minutes, a Christian dies in the Middle East, and Muslim leaders know it.”
Father Gabriel Nadaf, an Israeli priest born in Christ’s home town of Nazareth, is an outspoken advocate for Christians in the Middle East, and travels with a 24-hour security escort because of death threats leveled against him.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan: 31 People Sentenced in Terrorism-Related Cases
Rights activists accuse authorities of abusing anti-terror law
AMMAN — The military-run state security court has sentenced over 31 people to between 18 months and life imprisonment in 16 separate terrorism-related cases for allegedly attempting to carry out attacks on foreign and local targets or operating under the Islamic State (IS) flag, judicial sources said on Thursday.
Some of the cases involve attempts to blow up the embassies of Israel, Russia and Iran, while others relate to a planned attack against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.
The most common cases concern accusations of spreading ISIS ideology, which is punishable by between 4 and 15 years in jail according to Petra news agency.
Human rights groups and the Jordan Bar Association have been at loggerhead with authorities over jurisdiction of the state security court, which is often accused of using confessions obtained under duress as valid evidence. The Jordan Bar Association (JBA) is currently banning its members from representing clients in court, which is run by two military judges and one civilian judge, as a sign of protest. The bar association claims the government and security apparatus including the intelligence department often apply anti-terrorism laws in cases of freedom of expression, as hundreds of citizens lie in prison for demanding reforms in a country plagued by corruption and increasing poverty.
“A recent wave of protests against government fiscal policies, including lifting subsidies on bread, has seen dozens locked up in prison without bail,” a member of the JBA executive office told ANSA.
The bar association has demanded that the government free dozens of detained lawyers, stop referring protestors to the state security court, and refrain from using anti-terrorism laws against them.
Lawyers have told ANSA that Jordanian prisons are home to thousands of individuals convicted in terrorism-related cases, and concern over their fate once they leave prison.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU Recalls Moscow Envoy, Blames Russia for UK Spy Attack
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is recalling its ambassador from Moscow for consultations over the nerve gas attack against a former spy in Britain earlier this month, reinforcing a united stand with Prime Minister Theresa May against Russia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two Lebanese-Australian men could face the death penalty after an alleged terror plot targeting an Etihad flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi with up to 400 passengers and crew aboard.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Up to Two-Thirds of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 1.1 Billion People Want to Migrate to the EU, U.S.
Up to two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa’s 1.1 billion population want to migrate to Europe or to the United States, with millions planning to make the move in the next five years.
Around half of people in Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, and South Africa, and three quarters of those questioned in Ghana and Nigeria, want to immigrate to the U.S. or Europe, according to a study by Pew Research Centre published Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
4 Nabbed for Tunisia-Sicily Migrant Trafficking
Near Agrigento
(ANSA) — Agrigento, March 23 — Italian police on Friday arrested four people on suspicion of trafficking migrants between Tunisia and Sicily.
The four are accused of human trafficking.
They are also accused of smuggling cigarettes.
The arrests were made at Sciacca near Agrigento.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Sex Attacks Continue to Rise in Austria in Wake of Migrant Crisis
The number of sex attacks in Austria has increased for the second straight year following the 2015 migrant crisis with 2017 seeing close to 5,000 sexual assault and rape cases.
The Austrian Interior Ministry released new figures on the number of sex attack cases that occurred in the country in 2017, showing yet another rise since 2015 to 4,700 cases in a country of less than nine million people, Kronen Zeitung reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands of ‘Soros Puppets’ Want to Make Hungary’s Government Pro-Immigration
Zoltan Kovacs, spokesman of the Hungarian government, warned that financier George Soros is actively meddling in Hungary’s elections of 8 April.
Kovacs claimed that Soros’ meddling in the country’s elections is part of his international plan ‘to make Hungary an immigrant country’.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘Dangerous and Devious’ Iraqi Asylum Seeker Gets Life for Parsons Green Bomb
LONDON (AFP) — An 18-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker on Friday received a life sentence with a minimum 34-year jail term over the botched bombing of a rush-hour London Underground train that injured 30 people.
Judge Charles Haddon-Cave said Ahmed Hassan had constructed a homemade bomb “to kill as many members of the British public as possible”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Prosecutors Ask to Shelve Zanon Case
For ‘misuse’ of chauffeured car
(ANSA) — Rome, March 23 — Rome prosecutors on Friday asked judges to shelve an embezzlement case against Constitutional Court judge Niccolò Zanon for allegedly misusing a chauffeured limousine.
The request was linked to the March 21 approval of a Constitutional Court rule where the use of cars by the supreme court judges is “personal and exclusive”.
The request to shelve the case was sent to a preliminary investigations judge for their decision.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
I like the American one. No humans hurt and a muslim gets a taste of his future while still alive.
Turkey plans to unite 57 nations to form Army of Islam
https://www.siasat.com/news/turkey-plans-unite-57-nations-form-army-islam-1333684/
Thank goodness for nukes.
“Asian” males once again beating up one guy. Somebody has to get these Chinese kids ( could be Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian) under control.