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Terrorism Tag

After three long years, forces have liberated Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, from the grips of ISIS. From CNN:
"From here, from the heart of the liberated and free Mosul, by the sacrifices of the Iraqis from all the provinces, we declare the great victory for all of Iraq and Iraqis," [Iraqi PM Haider] al-Abadi said. "This is a great celebration that crowned the victories of the fighters and the Iraqis over the last three years."

In late November 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists launched one of the most brazen terrorist attacks ever, in the Indian city of Mumbai. By the time it was over, 164 people were killed in multiple locations, including Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, Leopold Café, Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Metro Cinema, Cama and Albless Hospital and Nariman House. Sending teams of terrorists to multiple locations to effectively paralyze a city was a model that would be repeated, including in Paris 2015:

The Petya ransomeware took off yesterday across the globe, affecting state-owned and private businesses in Russia, Europe, and the U.S. The BBC has now reported that it "may have started via corrupted updates on a piece of accountancy software." The ransomeware hit Ukraine hardest since it attacked the country's "power grid, banks and government offices" and disrupted some flights at Kyiv's Boryspil Airport. Other companies hit included pharmaceutical giant Merck and Russia's state owned energy company Rosneft.

Combatting Islamist terror was high on the agenda when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House on his first official visit since President Donald Trump took office. "We are both determined to destroy terrorist organizations and the radical ideology that drives them. We will destroy radical Islamic terrorism," President Trump said in his joint statement with the Indian Prime Minister at the Rose Garden. "We discussed the serious challenges of terrorism, extremism, and radicalisation, which are the major challenges facing the world today.  And we have agreed to enhance our cooperation in fighting against these scourges," Prime Minister Modi said.

On Wednesday, Amor Ftouhi, a Canadian originally from Tunisia, screamed Allahu Akbar after he stabbed Lt. Jeff Neville at Bishop International Airport in Flint, MI. The FBI have started investigating the attack as a terrorist act, but have not found Ftouhi involved in a wider plot.

"What the refugees bring us is more valuable than gold," said the Socialist German politician Martin Schulz while addressing the students at the University of Heidelberg last year. With Islamist terror attacks hitting one European city after another and Germany in the grip of a self-inflicted Migrant Crime Wave, the gifts of mass-migration from Arab and Muslim countries are manifolds indeed. While Europe’s mainstream media and the political elite, wedded to the narrative of cultural relativism, are busy peddling the 'culturally enriching' effects of mass-migration, there is no way of glossing over the fact that unregulated Arab and Muslim immigration is reviving the scourge of antisemitism across Europe. Study after study shows how Europe is mass-importing antisemitism seven decades after the end of the Holocaust.

Just when you thought Obama's disastrous Iran deal couldn't get any worse, we learn that in order to protect the bad deal, Obama systematically disbanded units investigating Iran's terror-funding networks.  Not only that, but he also disbanded units investigating the state funding of terrorists by Syria and Venezuela. The Washington Free Beacon reports:
The Obama administration "systematically disbanded" law enforcement investigative units across the federal government focused on disrupting Iranian, Syrian, and Venezuelan terrorism financing networks out of concern the work could cause friction with Iranian officials and scuttle the nuclear deal with Iran, according to a former U.S. official who spent decades dismantling terrorist financial networks.

The Department of Justice has announced the arrest of two Hezbollah men, one in New York and another in Michigan, for allegedly plotting attacks in New York and the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Panama. DOJ officials released these statements:
Acting U.S. Attorney [Joon H.] Kim said: “Today, we announce serious terrorism charges against two men who allegedly trained with and supported the Islamic Jihad Organization, a component of the foreign terrorist organization Hizballah. Recruited as Hizballah operatives, Samer El Debek and Ali Kourani allegedly received military-style training, including in the use of weapons like rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns for use in support of the group’s terrorist mission. At the direction of his Hizballah handlers, El Debek allegedly conducted missions in Panama to locate the U.S. and Israeli Embassies and to assess the vulnerabilities of the Panama Canal and ships in the Canal. Kourani allegedly conducted surveillance of potential targets in America, including military and law enforcement facilities in New York City. Thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI and NYPD, the allegedly destructive designs of these two Hizballah operatives have been thwarted, and they will now face justice in a Manhattan federal court.”

Gunmen launched two attacks in Iran, one at the parliament building and at the tomb of the country's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollak Khomeini. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. From Reuters:
The raids took place at a particularly charged time, after Iran's main regional rival Saudi Arabia and other Sunni powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of backing Tehran and militant groups. Attackers dressed as women burst through parliament's main entrance in central Tehran, deputy interior minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Merkel's government wants to kick off "peace talks" with Jihadist terror group Taliban while Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel revealed his country's involvement in negotiations with Afghanistan-based terrorist group. "We are involved in finding a political solution between the hostile camps," German Foreign Minister confirmed. It is, however, unclear how Merkel government wants to "make peace" with an Islamist group that remains committed to global Jihad and seeks annihilation of all ‘infidels’. "One doesn't make peace with friends, rather with enemies," Foreign Minister Gabriel told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. Neville Chamberlain couldn't have said it better. Ousted from power by a US-led military operation 16 years ago, Taliban has managed to make substantial gains during the eight years of Obama presidency, taking back nearly 40 percent of the country.

British PM Theresa May, in an address to the nation, stated that it wasn't possible to have "predicted" or "envisaged" the latest terrorist attacks in Manchester and London. Here's her statement, as broadcast on CNN this morning:

"We could never have predicted the tragic turn which events would take. We could never have imagined the appalling depravity which led a cowardly and callous killer to target innocent men, women, and children, in the way that we saw in Manchester two weeks ago. Nor could we have envisaged the brutal attack that was carried out on the streets of London Saturday evening."

Officials in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have all announced the countries have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar due to terrorism and extremism. From The Guardian:
The official state news agency, citing an official source, said Saudi Arabia had decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar “proceeding from the exercise of its sovereign right guaranteed by international law and the protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism”.

Terrorists killed seven people and injured 48 more on London Bridge and Borough Market in London on Saturday night. 35 of the injured remain in hospitals around the area. Police have also made 12 quick arrests in east London in connection with the terrorist attack. This is what we know so far about the attack.