Weekly Security Brief - Sept 1st

by **Sabre** 1/9/2014, 14:07

Dilitas Weekly Security Brief

This email has been compiled from current, open source data supplied through contacts within Diplomatic Posts, law enforcement agencies and UK intelligence services.

The information herein is to keep you informed of the current security situations within the UK and the rest of the world.

If you require more specific information on any other prevailing matters, please contact us at info@dilitas.com detailing what you require and we will respond to you.

Regards,

Christopher Cully

Managing Director

The threat to the UK from International Terrorism is SEVERE

The threat to Great Britain from Irish Republican Terrorism is MODERATE

Domestic:

The UK's terror threat level is being raised from "substantial" to "severe" in response to conflicts in Iraq and Syria, Home Secretary Theresa May says. The new alert level means an attack on the UK is "highly likely", although Mrs May said there was no intelligence to suggest an attack was "imminent". It is the second highest of five possible UK threat levels. PM David Cameron said at least 500 people had travelled from the UK "to fight in Syria and potentially Iraq". He said Islamic State (IS) extremists - who are attempting to establish a "caliphate", or Islamic state, in the region - represented a "greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before". New legislation would also be brought in to make it easier to take passports away from people travelling abroad to join the conflict, Mr Cameron said. National Policing Lead for Counter-Terrorism Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said security and protection measures were increased from last Friday. And efforts are currently under way to identify a suspected British jihadist who appeared in IS footage of the killing of US journalist James Foley. During a news conference at Downing Street, Mr Cameron spoke of the "growing" threat of British people travelling to fight in Iraq and Syria and then returning home. He said Britain must couple a "firm security response" with an "intelligent political response", but warned the fight against the extremists would last "years and probably decades". Mr Cameron did not give extensive details on what the changed threat level would mean, stressing people "should continue to go about our lives in the normal way".

But he said people "might see some changes in terms of policing and the number of armed police". More steps to deal with the threat will be announced on today, Monday 1st September, Mr Cameron said, adding there were "gaps in our armoury" which needed to be strengthened.

Negotiations between the Tories and Lib Dems are expected to continue ahead of the unveiling of a new plan to tackle the threat of Islamic extremists. David Cameron will announce steps to widen anti-terror laws once the much-debated package of measures is agreed. It comes as violence in Iraq and Syria intensifies, with growing concern that the 500-plus Britons who left to fight Jihad could return to attack the UK. The coalition has clashed over the new steps amid concerns about civil rights. The Tories want new laws to seize passports and and impose temporary bans on fighters travelling from foreign conflicts. Under the proposals, UK nationals suspected of being involved in terror acts would be allowed to keep their British citizenship, but they would be prevented from re-entering the UK for a period of time. However, the Lib Dems have questioned the legality of such measures.

A former Rotherham care home worker has told the BBC how girls as young as 11 were "brazenly" groomed and abused in the South Yorkshire town. The man, who worked at children's homes for four years, said girls would be picked up by taxis and abusers made "no attempts to disguise" their actions. At least 1,400 children were sexually exploited, mainly by men of Pakistani heritage, between 1997 and 2013. Those in charge of care services at the time have faced calls to resign. They include Sonia Sharp, who ran Rotherham's children's services department from 2003 to 2008 and is now in charge of education services in the Australian state of Victoria.

The parents of a five-year-old British boy with a brain tumour who was taken from hospital without medical consent and found in Spain are set to appear before a Spanish judge today.

International:

Nato has accused Russia of a "blatant violation" of Ukraine's sovereignty and engaging in direct military operations to support pro-Russian rebels. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that "despite hollow denials", it was now clear that Russia had illegally crossed Ukraine's border. He said Nato would respect any Ukrainian decision on security, after its PM said he was putting the country on course for Nato membership. Russia denies sending troops and arms.

An "immediate ceasefire" in Ukraine must be the priority for key negotiations taking place today, Russia's foreign minister has said. Ukrainian troops "must leave positions from which they can harm the civilian population", Sergei Lavrov said. Ukrainian and Russian officials are due to hold talks with separatist rebels and international monitors in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

Leading American senators have called for the US to send weapons to help Ukraine fight what they say is "a Russian invasion". The head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Russia must face a cost for its "aggression". Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin called for talks to discuss the issue of "statehood" for eastern Ukraine.

Iraqi forces have reached the besieged town of Amerli in northern Iraq, where thousands have been trapped by jihadists, military officials say. The apparent breakthrough came amid fresh US air strikes on Islamic State (IS) positions. Fifteen IS fighters are said to have been captured.

Israel has announced plans to expropriate 4 sq km of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The decision to appropriate land south of Bethlehem is believed to be the largest seizure by Israel in 30 years. The military-run local administration said it was a response to the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers in the area in June.

Palestinians said diplomatic action should be taken against Israel. The US urged Israel to reverse the move.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces say they have retaken oilfields near Mosul in north Iraq from Islamic State (IS) militants. The attack on the three Ain Zalah installations began on Thursday morning, they said, but the militants blew them all up as they retreated.

The UK, France and Australia joined the US in dropping humanitarian aid.

Abdullah al-Thinni has stepped down as Libya's prime minister in a move to end the power struggle in the country. The cabinet said it was resigning to enable the elected parliament to choose a new, inclusive government. The Islamist-linked militia which seized the capital, Tripoli, last week has called for the elected MPs to be replaced by the previous body, the General National Congress (GNC).

Germany will send anti-tank rocket launchers, rifles and hand grenades to support Iraqi Kurds battling jihadist militants fighting for the Islamic State, the German defence ministry says.

Senegal's health ministry has confirmed a first case of Ebola, making it the fifth West African country to be affected by the outbreak. Health Minister Awa Marie Coll Seck told reporters on Friday that a young man from Guinea was confirmed to have contracted the virus. The man was immediately placed in quarantine, she added. The current outbreak, which began in Guinea, has killed more than 1,500 people across the region.

A suspected case of the Ebola virus has been discovered in the Swedish capital Stockholm, a local official says.

More than three million Syrians are now registered as refugees and the desperate crisis is only getting worse, the UN's refugee agency says. The UNHCR says Syria is now "the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era" with almost half of all Syrians forced to flee their homes. The majority of refugees have fled to countries neighbouring Syria, with most now seeking shelter in Lebanon. More than 190,000 have been killed in Syria's three-year civil war.

US President Barack Obama has authorised surveillance flights over Syria in order to gain intelligence on the activities of Islamic State (IS). Correspondents say the move could mark the first step towards US air strikes inside Syria, where the jihadist group controls vast swathes of territory. The US is already carrying out strikes against IS in neighbouring Iraq.

The prime minister of the southern African kingdom of Lesotho has fled to South Africa, alleging a coup by the army and saying his life is in danger. Speaking to the BBC, Thomas Thabane said he would return from South Africa, which surrounds Lesotho, "as soon as I know I am not going to get killed". Reports say the capital, Maseru, is now calm after soldiers seized buildings. The army denied staging a coup.

Officials say there will be no charges after an incident in which a nine-year-old girl fatally shot a gun instructor. The death of Charles Vacca, 39, was "being viewed as an industrial accident," Mohave County Sheriff's office said in a statement. Vacca was giving the girl a lesson at an Arizona shooting range when the recoil from a firearm caused her to lose control of the Uzi submachine gun. He died after being airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas.

The mother of Steven Sotloff, a US journalist being held by Islamic State (IS) militants, has made an emotional video appeal for his release. Shirley Sotloff addressed her plea directly to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the militant group. Mr Sotloff, who vanished last year in Syria, appeared in a video showing the killing of US journalist James Foley. The militant on the video said his life depended on the next move of US President Barack Obama.

Police in New Zealand have detained a man suspected of shooting two people dead and injuring a third at an unemployment office. The incident happened on Monday morning in the town of Ashburton, southwest of Christchurch. A man went into a Work and Income New Zealand office and opened fire, before fleeing. Two people were killed and a third person was in a "serious but stable condition", local police said. Police said the man left the scene on a bicycle and warned residents not to approach him.

Leaders of five of El Salvador's powerful gangs say they will stop attacking police and military in a bid to re-launch a gang truce agreed two years ago. The gangs want the government to provide "negotiating facilities" and promised to avoid "civilian" attacks.

Some 230 members of an Orthodox Jewish group have begun leaving a village in western Guatemala after a bitter row with the local indigenous community. The Lev Tahor members were asked to leave San Juan La Laguna after meetings with elders of the Mayan community.

The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bahrain has upheld a 10-year-jail sentence on photojournalist Ahmad Humaidan. Humaidan, 25, was convicted of taking part in an attack on a police station in Sitra in April 2012. Human rights groups say he was simply covering pro-democracy protests that erupted among Bahrain's Shia majority.

Cyber Security:

The FBI says it is investigating reports in the US media of recent cyber-attacks against several US banks. The reports suggest between two and five banks have been targeted, including Wall Street giant JP Morgan Chase. JP Morgan Chase declined to comment on the reports directly, but said companies of its size experienced cyber-attacks "nearly every day". The FBI did not indicate who it suspected of being behind the attacks.

Significant Forthcoming Anniversaries:

Sept 1, 2004 Chechen gunmen take control of Beslan School in Russia taking 1,000 hostages. Ends three days later when Russian troops assault building. In the resolution 344 (mainly children) were killed and 700 were wounded. 31 gunmen also died.

Sept 1, 1970 Palestinian guerrillas are expelled from Jordan leading to one extremist Palestinian radical group adopting the nom du guerre ‘Black September’

Sept 4, 2007 Germany – Three arrests foiled a plot to attack U.S. and other targets

Sept 5, 2006 Danish police arrest nine on charges of plotting attack; chemicals, materials for explosives seized

Sept 5, 1972 Munich Olympic Games siege by Black September. The incident leaves 11 Israeli athletes dead

Sept 5, 1975 PIRA bomb at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane kills 2 people and injures 63.

Sept 6, 1988 Abu Nidal terrorists carry out a weapon and grenade attack on an Istanbul synagogue killing 21 worshippers

Sept 9, 2004 Indonesia: Al-Qaeda attacks Australian Embassy in Jakarta, killing 10.

Sept 9, 2003 Israel: Suicide bomber kills 8 people (2 U.S. citizens) at a hospital 15 kms east of Tel Aviv

Sept 9, 2001 Afghanistan: Opposition leader Ahmad Shah Mahsood killed by two al- Qaeda suicide bombers

Sept 11, 2001 Four passenger planes hijacked; two crash into World Trade Center in New York City; one crashes into Pentagon; fourth crashes into field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Sept 11, 2012 US diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, attacked; Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans killed

Sept 11, 2014 US Patriot Day

Sept 13, 2011 US Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul hit in simultaneous attacks with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire; Taliban claim responsibility

Sept 13, 1993 Israel and the PLO sign peace agreement

Sept 15, 1940 Battle of Britain Day

Sept 18, 1997 Bomb attack on Cairo tourist bus by two Muslim militants kills nine Germans

Sept 19, 1989 UTA Flight 772 to Paris explodes over Niger, killing 170; Libya held responsible

Sept 20, 2001 The U.S. and EU pledge partnership against terrorism

Sept 20, 1984 Lebanon: Islamic Jihad blamed for a VBIED attack on U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut killing 23 people

Sept 20, 2008 In Pakistan, a large VBIED outside the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad kills more than 60 people and wounds over 200

Sept 21, 2000 Dissident Irish Republicans fire an RPG-22 round at the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) building in Vauxhall, London

Sept 21, 2000 Call by al-Qaeda leader, bin Laden, to wage a holy war against Jews

Sept 21, 2013 Gunmen kill more than 70, wound 200 in attack on Westgate mall in Nairobi; al-Shabaab claims responsibility

Sept 23, 1983 United Arab Emirates: Gulf Air aircraft bombed; 111 killed including one American

Visit Dilitas at our Facebook page.

Ensure that your own security arrangements are adequate and robust at all times.

Report any suspicious activity to Police immediately

Confidential Anti Terrorist Hotline: 0800 789 321 or dial 999